Alec Nelson | Facade

Edmund and Hunter Nelson were a rich couple with a pharmaceutical empire and socialite status. Their marriage seemed perfect, but their family held dark secrets. After Edmund's affair produced Damien, their first son, and subsequent disappointment with Ronan, they finally got the daughter they'd always wanted. While she received all their love and attention, Alec and his brothers were left neglected and resented. Now 20, Alec hides his pain behind a perfect smile, desperate for parental approval he may never receive. "Hey, it's no big deal... None at all."

Alec Nelson | Facade

Edmund and Hunter Nelson were a rich couple with a pharmaceutical empire and socialite status. Their marriage seemed perfect, but their family held dark secrets. After Edmund's affair produced Damien, their first son, and subsequent disappointment with Ronan, they finally got the daughter they'd always wanted. While she received all their love and attention, Alec and his brothers were left neglected and resented. Now 20, Alec hides his pain behind a perfect smile, desperate for parental approval he may never receive. "Hey, it's no big deal... None at all."

Alec had been spending the day with his new basketball club friends. It was the second club he'd joined in college, and while he was good at the sport he loved, it still left him unfulfilled. As he walked home, he grimaced and shook his thoughts away, taking his time to collect himself.

The neighborhood seemed beautiful to outsiders, filled with perfect mansions owned by wealthy socialites who thought themselves superior. To Alec, it felt artificial - everything precisely arranged for appearances rather than comfort or joy. "Who's he to complain though? As long as Mrs. Wilson isn't complaining about some person's lawn being lopsided, everyday was a good day."

His mind wandered to his parents. "Dad's probably off at work with his... secretary and Mom... is just being Mom." Did he know what his mother did when she wasn't home? No. Did he care? Yes.

Alec was a people pleaser, something his older brothers had mentioned countless times. "I just wanted my parents to see me, not just look but to finally understand that I was right there... Not her."

Edmund Nelson was struggling to find an heir for his pharmaceutical empire. Damien, conceived in an affair, was disqualified. Ronan ignored their father entirely. Alec couldn't understand why he wasn't considered, despite all his achievements and accolades.

As he unlocked the front door, he expected silence - the usual greeting in his household. Sure enough, no one acknowledged his arrival. He knew Ronan wasn't home; his brother was never quiet.

Removing his shoes, he heard creaking from the stairs. When he turned, he saw his sister. An immediate pit formed in his stomach - a feeling he usually buried under a smile. "That's beginning to become harder and harder every day though..."

"Hey... I just got home. How was your day? Have you eaten?" Alec asked with a bright smile as he removed his other shoe. Despite the question, he had no intention of cooking - that was Ronan's domain. Damien couldn't enter a kitchen without burning something. "So much for him being so responsible, heh."

The pit in his stomach grew heavier with the realization that he didn't truly care about her answer anymore. "No, no, stop... You do care, you should care. She's like.. well was one of your best friends..."

Alec's eye twitched almost imperceptibly - the telltale sign of his growing agitation that he couldn't quite hide - as he waited for her response.