ELIANA'S POV
Monday at school started with whale sounds.
Ooooooooo. Ooooooooo.
Eliana heard it the moment she stepped through Riverside High's main entrance. Low, mocking, following her down the hallway like a shadow with a voice.
She didn't turn around. Didn't react. Just kept walking toward her locker with her head up and her jaw clenched so tight her teeth hurt.
Ooooooooo.
The sound came from everywhere and nowhere—bouncing off lockers, echoing in the commons, blending with laughter that erupted every few seconds. Students pulled out their phones, recording. Someone whispered There she is loud enough for her to hear.
Eliana reached her locker and spun the combination with shaking hands.
Ooooooooo. Closer now. Right behind her.
She whipped around.
A guy she didn't know—baseball cap, varsity letterman jacket—stood three feet away making the sound. When she made eye contact, he grinned and did it louder. OOOOOOOOO.
His friends howled with laughter.
Real mature, Eliana snapped.
What? I'm just practicing my marine biology. He pulled out his phone, recording her. Say hi to the internet, Riverside's Biggest Mis
Jacob, cut it out. A teacher passed by without stopping. Didn't even slow down. Just kept walking like teenage cruelty was background noise.
Jacob waited exactly three seconds after the teacher disappeared. Ooooooooo.
Eliana grabbed her books, slammed her locker, and walked away. The whale sounds followed her to first period. Second period. Third period. Different people, same sound, endless variations of the same joke that stopped being funny two million views ago.
By lunch, she was ready to walk out and never come back.
The library bathroom had become her refuge—the one place people left her alone because nobody wanted to eat lunch where the scholarship whale hid. Eliana locked herself in the furthest stall and tried to remember how to breathe.
Her phone buzzed.
Jordy:I punched the whale sound guy. Got sent to the principal. Worth it.
Despite everything, Eliana smiled.
Eliana:You didn't have to do that.
Jordy:Yes I did. Nobody messes with my best friend.
Jordy:Also his nose might be broken. Oops.
Eliana:JORDY.
Jordy:What? He had it coming. I'm a hero. Also suspended for three days but HERO.
The bathroom door opened. Voices filtered in—high, cruel, familiar.
I'm telling you, she's living with him, Sienna's voice echoed off the tiles. My source saw her arrive with luggage.
Eliana's breath caught. She pulled her feet up onto the toilet seat, making herself invisible.
But why would Carter hire her? Another voice. Becca, probably. One of Sienna's followers. She's literally nobody.
Exactly. Which means she's cheap. The Ashfords probably wanted the lowest bidder for babysitting duty. Sienna's heels clicked across the floor. God, imagine being so desperate for money you'd live with a family that pities you.
Do you think they're— Becca lowered her voice. You know. Hooking up?
Sienna laughed, sharp and mean. Please. Carter has standards. He's just using her for childcare. The second his parents come back, she's gone.
Then why are you worried?
Silence. Long enough that Eliana wondered if they'd left.
Then Sienna's voice came out different—tight, almost afraid: I'm not worried. I just don't like people touching what's mine.
The bathroom door opened and closed. Footsteps faded.
Eliana stayed frozen in the stall for another five minutes, heart pounding, Sienna's words echoing in her head.
Carter has standards.
She's gone.
What's mine.
Her phone buzzed again. Unknown number.
Unknown Number:Lily's asking for you. She won't eat. Can you call?
Then immediately: This is Carter. Got your number from the emergency contact form. Sorry.
Eliana's anger dissolved instantly. She called without thinking.
Carter answered on the first ring. Thank God. Hold on. Rustling sounds, then his voice distant: Lily, Eliana's on the phone.
Ellie? Lily's voice came through weak and small. Nothing like the bright chatter from yesterday. Ellie, I don't feel good.
I know, sweetheart. Did you try eating the soup Carter made?
It tastes wrong. Everything tastes wrong. A pause, then softer: Can you make your special mac and cheese tonight? The one with the breadcrumbs on top? It's the only thing that doesn't make me feel sick.
Eliana's chest squeezed. Of course. I'll make it as soon as I get home.
Can you come home now? Lily's voice cracked. Please? I miss you.
In the background, Carter said something Eliana couldn't hear. Then Lily again: Carter says you have school. But school is stupid and you should be here instead.
Despite everything, Eliana smiled. I'll be there soon. I promise.
She hung up and checked the time: 12:47 PM. Two more classes—English and Calculus. Both useless compared to a sick eight-year-old who needed her.
Eliana made a decision.
She grabbed her bag and walked out of the bathroom. Ignored the whale sounds that started up again in the hallway. Ignored the phones recording her. Ignored Dylan trying to apologize for the third time this week.
She walked straight out of Riverside High and didn't look back.
The grocery store was blessedly normal. Nobody knew her face here. Nobody cared about viral videos or scholarship students or whale sounds.
Eliana bought pasta, cheese, cream, breadcrumbs. The good kind, not the cheap stuff, because Lily deserved the best. The bill made her wince—almost forty dollars for one meal—but the money in her account was Carter's anyway.
She got home at 3:30 PM and let herself in through the kitchen entrance.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Carter? she called.
No answer.
Eliana dropped her groceries on the counter and ran upstairs. Lily?
She found them in Lily's bedroom—Carter sitting on the floor beside Lily's bed, reading aloud from a princess story in different voices while Lily lay curled under blankets, eyes closed but smiling slightly.
Carter looked up when Eliana appeared in the doorway. Relief flooded his face. You came.
Of course I came. Eliana knelt beside them. Hey, Lily-bug. I brought everything for mac and cheese.
Lily's eyes opened. Really?
Really. Give me thirty minutes and you'll have the best mac and cheese ever made.
Can I help?
Absolutely not. You rest. Carter can help me instead.
Carter stood immediately. What do you need?
They worked in the kitchen in comfortable silence—Carter chopping vegetables for a side salad while Eliana boiled pasta and made cheese sauce from scratch. It was strange, this quiet cooperation. No awkwardness. No forced conversation. Just two people working toward the same goal.
You left school early, Carter said eventually. Not an accusation. Just a statement.
Lily needed me.
You didn't have to do that.
Yes, I did. Eliana stirred the sauce, watching it thicken. Besides, school was unbearable today anyway.
Carter's knife paused mid-chop. What happened?
Nothing I can't handle.
Eliana.
She looked at him. Really looked. He'd abandoned his perfect golden boy mask—hair messy, shirt wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept. And his expression was... worried. Actually worried. About her.
Someone followed me around making whale sounds all day, she admitted. Sienna's new strategy, apparently. Creative, right?
Carter's knuckles went white around the knife. Who?
Does it matter? Everyone thinks it's hilarious.
It matters to me. His voice came out rough. Angry. Give me a name.
So you can what? Defend my honor? You can't even acknowledge me in the hallways.
The words came out sharper than she meant. Carter flinched like she'd slapped him.
That's not fair, he said quietly.
Isn't it? I'm good enough to take care of your sister. Good enough to live in your house. But at school, I'm invisible. Eliana turned back to the stove. It's fine. That's the deal. Business, remember?
Silence stretched between them—thick and uncomfortable.
Then Carter said: I broke up with Sienna. For real this time.
Eliana's hand froze on the spoon. What?
This morning. Before school. I told her we're done, and I'm not changing my mind. He set down the knife. She didn't take it well.
That's why she sicced whale boy on me.
Probably. Carter moved closer, leaning against the counter beside her. I'm sorry. For all of it. For not defending you. For being a coward. For making you feel invisible when you're— He stopped himself.
When I'm what?
When you're the most real thing in my life right now.
The admission hung between them like a live wire.
Eliana's heart did something complicated. Carter—
Lily loves you, he continued, voice rough. In four days, you've given her more happiness than I've managed in months. And watching you with her... you're so patient. So kind. So—
Dinner's ready! Lily's voice called from upstairs. I can smell it! It smells amazing!
The moment shattered.
Carter stepped back. Eliana focused on the mac and cheese. They plated everything in silence and brought it upstairs together.
Lily devoured two bowls—more than Eliana had seen her eat all week. She chattered between bites about the story Carter had been reading, about a dream she'd had, about how Eliana should teach her to cook so she could make this herself someday.
Someday, Eliana promised, throat tight.
After dinner, Carter helped clean up while Lily dozed off in her bed. They worked side by side at the kitchen sink—Carter washing, Eliana drying—and the comfortable silence returned.
You're good at this, Carter said suddenly.
At what? Dishes?
At making people feel less alone.
Eliana's hands stilled on the towel. I'm just cooking pasta.
No, you're giving Lily hope. Giving her something to look forward to. He turned to face her, suds dripping from his hands. You're giving me hope too.
Carter—
His phone exploded with texts. Buzzing so violently it rattled across the counter.
They both looked.
Sienna:Where are you?
Sienna:We have plans!
Sienna:CARTER answer me
Sienna:If you're with HER I swear to God
Sienna:Answer your phone or I'm coming over
Carter silenced it without reading the rest.
I should go deal with that, he said, but he didn't move.
Eliana didn't move either.
The kitchen suddenly felt very small. Carter stood close enough that she could see gold flecks in his brown eyes. Could smell his cologne mixed with dish soap. Could feel the heat radiating off him.
You should, Eliana whispered.
I know.
Neither moved.
Carter's phone buzzed again. And again. And again.
Then it started ringing.
Carter grabbed it, finger hovering over the decline button
The screen changed. Not a call anymore. A notification.
Instagram:@SiennaCross tagged you in a post
Carter's face went white.
He opened the app with shaking hands.
Eliana watched his expression shift from confusion to horror to pure rage in three seconds.
What? she demanded. What did she post?
Carter turned the phone around.
It was a photo—clearly taken from outside the mansion, through the kitchen window. Carter and Eliana standing at the sink. Close. Too close. The angle made it look intimate. Romantic.
The caption: Guess who's playing house with the scholarship whale while his sister dies upstairs? Carter Ashford, everyone. #Cheater #GoldDigger #Pathetic Some people have NO shame.
The post already had fifteen thousand likes.
Three thousand comments.
All of them brutal.
Oh my God, Eliana breathed.
Carter's hands were shaking so badly he dropped the phone. She was here. Outside. Watching.
Carter
She's going to destroy you. Again. Because of me. His voice cracked. I'm so sorry. I'm so—
A crash from upstairs.
Then Lily's scream: CARTER! ELIANA! HELP!
They ran.