ILLUSION, ELI HALE

eight | public enemy #1

"You have been hanging out with who!?" Nathan's shriek just about shook the house how loudly he had yelled.

"See! This is why I didn't tell you guys. You were just going to make it a huge deal."

Currently, Nadia sat on the couch in her living room, squirming under the glares coming from both her brother and mother. She was right in her predictions according to their reactions when her family finally found out the truth about Stacy Freeman. Her mother was appalled, Nadia was sure Margie was on her way to match her late father with a heart attack. She couldn't believe her darling daughter has been running around with a boy—let alone one who plays lacrosse! And Nathan was angrier than she'd ever seen him. He could barely look her in the eye. Nadia couldn't get the looks of their faces after Deputy Parrish dropped her off home from her mind. The disappointment was seeping through their pores.

"The huge deal is that you were caught by Sheriff Stilinski and his Deputy stealing a car, young lady!" Her mother crossed her arms across her chest. "Do you understand how embarrassing it is to have your daughter be driven home in a cop car? I'm already hearing the critiques from our neighbors."

Nadia wasn't so aware of her mother's tendency to think about their family image when she was younger, but it has gotten more apparent over the years as they lost more customers. One wrong move from the Porter family and customers would be driving across town to the Hales for business. It's not like Nadia didn't understand their concern. She did.

Ever since Derek Hale opened his business, her family's business has dwindled. That is a fact. But the other fact is that Derek and Eli were just a family making money just like anyone else. It shouldn't be a competition, and her family would know that if they got to know those men as she did. The Hales were her second family, yet everyone she loved, hated them.

"We didn't purposefully mean to get caught." Nadia shrugged.

"Nadia Elizabeth Porter, are you listening to yourself right now? What has gotten into you lately? Stealing cars even though you didn't plan to get caught? Staying out past your curfew?" Her mother said exasperatedly. "This person sitting in front of me is not the daughter I raised."

Nadia furrowed her eyebrows at her mother's comment. Margie had a master's degree in passive aggression, but this was professional Mom Guilt at its finest. "Mom, that's not fair. If you listened to me rather than yell, then maybe you'd hear what I'm trying to say."

"So what are you trying to say?" Nathan questioned the girl. "What excuse do you have?"

"It's not an excuse!" Nadia argued. "Eli is my best friend. He is a great kid, and sure we got caught doing one teeny little illegal thing, but that doesn't mean that you can put a label on him."

"Best friend." Nathan echoed her words. His eyes damn near bugged out of his head in shock. "How long have you two been sneaking around together?" Margie looked at Nadia expectantly, waiting for the answer.

"Two years," Nadia said honestly. "Three if you want to count the end of Eighth grade." 

The shocked looks on their faces did not go unnoticed. They were looking at her like she ran over a cat. Nadia Porter: Public Enemy #1. Even her precious Lucille was sitting in the corner of the living room, her cute little head cocked to the side questioning why Nadi was getting reprimanded.

This wasn't fair. They weren't allowed to guilt her into feeling bad for having a friend. Eli was her only friend. And he was there for her when her family wasn't. Her lonely fifteenth birthday when Margie was out at the office and Nathan was busy at the shop, Eli got his dad to throw her a party at his house. Or those times when she needed a subject to do a photo essay on, the boy never complained. When she had nobody in her family to come to, Eli was always there. She loved that about him.