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]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIPqOr95Hd
I need to feel something431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84bPeztRdE
So my heart won’t turn to stone431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqxZEiy2qC
Been chasing shadows in the hallway431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr58897MXBA
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCm11Mb1ru
In a house that no one owns431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkOibx7rjb
You came in, said we’d fix it431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJcL8ncKja
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbG8wUVgWp
There’s hesitation in your voice431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnLyDsl6mU
I wish I didn’t notice431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXTog17x33
You promised me you’d call—431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOpUD1vihR
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Vk9DBVYCl
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4rCG0l7Vw
Where my lungs should be431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8h7VbyPbF
You took the breath out of me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4cvs4Lcoq
Like a comfortable liar431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuEUcRNHpY
And I’m tired431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQz2NcanDs
Of laying in this fire431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJLziPll8P
The more I see, the less I’m alive431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uJhcF9ifl
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2DtjNRffX
I replay things you said431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAygB3AOv2
Like a song stuck in my teeth431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq54THZ6eMy
Words that meant forever431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXeNpQCUEf
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cHCbcsRML
But you never said when431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA78IaPwiMr
I think I’m starting to believe431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuzmAqeuHV
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmzENNMfaQ
There’s silence in your absence431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPg3Tr4kfN
And it’s loud enough to break431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGxt4KQCoJ
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYswhUoNjT
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYgATcqoLB
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJlW497hv7
Where my lungs should be431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcm6kMIrVx
You took the breath out of me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0lq1YxW4C
Like a comfortable liar431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg3dok0GIA
And I’m tired431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P2PuVXLKa
Of laying in this fire431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡop2YpJtpc4
The more I see, the less I’m alive431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjyOYyCV9e
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFxIe38bD6
I need to be something431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHe6DPiKVA
So my past lets me go431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ41O8G0eIZ
I need to live again431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQZeBLAgwJ
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb7mi78ZAA
That I wake up from too soon431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pkNy6UfKO
And I keep screaming in my head431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpI72Xz1tk
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaS2X9O3Tn
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJZ7Hwd26V
Where my lungs should be431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5br1NE607C
You took the breath out of me431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljkaHEPcGQ
Like a comfortable liar431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK3xxXciGz
Now I’m colder431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKv1N6R56v
But not any wiser431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtXgH7xWso
The more I see, the less I’m alive431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvbSS3EigQ
I’m still breathing—431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuf3Nayour
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.”
ns216.73.216.95da2
and then Add to home screen.