Abigail’s POV
Sam and I were up all night, our only light source the blue glow of his monitor and the occasional flicker from the half-melted candle we forgot to blow out. We’d ditched our usual Friday night at the Saloon—sorry, Gus—because this was more important. We weren’t just making a song. We were building a piece of Sebastian’s soul.
Sam hunched over his laptop, laser-focused, piecing together every lyric with a kind of reverence I’d only seen him reserve for pizza or vintage guitars. I laid down a few drum samples, hunting for the right beat until one finally clicked—a sharp, echoing rhythm that felt like heartbreak on loop.
Sam used his computer to pull some of Sebastian’s saved synth recordings. They were haunting and mechanical, eerie in a way only Sebastian could make sound intentional. He added a guitar riff that somehow cut through the darkness like headlights in fog. It was beautiful, a perfect match to the pain tucked into the lyrics.
The vocals were trickier. Sam, the usual human golden retriever, had gone full perfectionist. He was determined to do justice to Sebastian’s words, even if it meant twenty takes and losing his voice in the process.
“I think that was amazing,” I said after he finished the final chorus, his voice raw but steady.
He pulled off his headphones and rubbed his eyes. “It still needs more... him.”
I chewed on my thumbnail. “It is him. Every part of it. The dark chords, the synth, the melody, that riff you played, and his words—his words.” I paused. “He’s going to be the only one listening to it, remember? And if he hates it, we’ll scrap it. But if he hears it and sees what we see…”
“If he doesn’t throw a chair at my head first,” Sam muttered, smirking.
I grinned. “I printed out the lyrics, just in case we needed a backup.” I handed him a sheet.
Sam double-checked the printout, then laid it beside the laptop. He clicked a few buttons, and we both leaned in, each taking an earbud.
“A Heart Worth Breaking” (Sebastian’s Song)
[Verse 1]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCSqybYelx
I need to feel something72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ071JgPzub4
So my heart won’t turn to stone72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZL0Cp9EKv
Been chasing shadows in the hallway72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir5NWNzdnv
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2pdTlSF6c
In a house that no one owns72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDI8lhWzDY3
You came in, said we’d fix it72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9cTc65wtB
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BUJzOJqCE
There’s hesitation in your voice72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuuDNpx2Pc
I wish I didn’t notice72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJFgFGVj7I
You promised me you’d call—72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzU5VOwm8Z
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxISP1jvWBf
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BTYAOdv6e
Where my lungs should be72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBxYXBYvOT
You took the breath out of me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeQTJhWWi7
Like a comfortable liar72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9Q53D3QZ8
And I’m tired72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkD9GRGX1m
Of laying in this fire72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0BmnVPEdU
The more I see, the less I’m alive72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWGqyXLaI5
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNiQO9xfoT
I replay things you said72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0B0EslfAAq
Like a song stuck in my teeth72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YUJMuYdKf
Words that meant forever72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2Xuc1Kg1I
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmw4Onz3OgS
But you never said when72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nqfHJBVDV
I think I’m starting to believe72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakoIkxPvF9
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0CGfzSEBS
There’s silence in your absence72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOeAl7Hmn4
And it’s loud enough to break72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckw0UoV4VO
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRykMxgkV8
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgZNB6CP94
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU3RELXg4b
Where my lungs should be72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv121kL4zy3
You took the breath out of me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBk17721rMc
Like a comfortable liar72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqak7ni40ng
And I’m tired72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVVXDpDaYQ
Of laying in this fire72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDh9XFHPRv
The more I see, the less I’m alive72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlE3aViYeY
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTvVDaoR8h
I need to be something72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbGi5iFJ3R
So my past lets me go72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dqYt0Efvf
I need to live again72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqJhQFSRWX
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuoNPunch0
That I wake up from too soon72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQcsY1f1lf
And I keep screaming in my head72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMULl2ptmLg
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKvndpeENi
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMbAYWleVD
Where my lungs should be72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0P0x9T8Fyi
You took the breath out of me72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WEsXQA7Ik
Like a comfortable liar72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8O1Q4xBDo
Now I’m colder72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVxCvhQloD
But not any wiser72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDxniC4eOl
The more I see, the less I’m alive72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ7GfZkqZV
I’m still breathing—72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCw6CFqtBxY
But barely surviving
"Perfect. I think it's ready go, should we listen to double check?" Sam asks. I nod my head as pull on the headphones. One in his ear, one in mine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alex’s POV
I took my usual evening walk, the summer air thick with warmth but edged with the kind of breeze that meant fall was waiting in the wings. Leaves hadn’t started to turn yet, but the way the light hit the trees—it was coming.
I passed Haley and Emily’s place, then Sam’s. The porch light was on, faint music humming through the windows. Probably another one of their all-night band sessions. Honestly, good for them. Stardrop Saloon was a fun gig, but I knew they were itching for something bigger.
The sun dipped low as I passed Marnie’s. Her cows blinked at me like they were judging my haircut. I waved anyway. As I rounded the bend near the pond, I saw her.
Haley. Squatting by the water with her camera, snapping shots like she hadn’t just spent the past five years acting like dirt was a death sentence.
“You know,” I said, smirking, “when you asked me to be your lighting guy, I thought you meant for pictures of you.”
She jumped, then groaned. “God, don’t sneak up on me like that. And no, dummy. It’s for the nature.”
“I didn’t know you liked photography,” I said, genuinely curious.
She turned those ice-blue eyes on me. “Well, maybe that’s on you.”
Fair enough.
“I think it’s cool,” I said. “The camera—it looks vintage. Where’d you get it?”
Her face shifted slightly, voice quieter. “My dad. Before he and my mom… left.”
I didn’t push it. She fiddled with the lens like it would distract her from the weight of what she said.
“You’re really good,” I said instead. “Like… weirdly good. Are you entering that Pelican Town Art Showcase thing next month?”
She looked up, surprised. “No. Why?”
“Because you should,” I said, shrugging. “Your photos feel like they’re telling a story. Like you’re trying to… I don’t know. Freeze a feeling or something.”
Haley blinked at me, and for once, didn’t have a sarcastic comeback. She just stared. Then—
“Okay, philosopher. Who even are you?”
I laughed. “Don’t get used to it.”
She smiled, and it hit me a little too hard in the chest. For a second, the pond, the light, her camera—everything felt like it was supposed to happen.
“Maybe you could be the model next time,” she said, a hint of challenge in her tone.
“Only if I get artistic control,” I replied. “And final approval. And maybe a crown.”
She laughed. “Deal.”
ns216.73.216.214da2
and then Add to home screen.