Conditional Love

Prologue

Unconditional love... when Max died three years ago, Alec told his parents that he wanted to be a paramedic instead of taking over his father's law firm. Robert and Maryse had said that as long as he was happy, he could be or do anything he wanted. They always told their children that being happy was all that mattered in the end. They told them that they could do what they wanted as long as it wasn't illegal, that they could be their own person, and that they could love whomever they chose to love, and Robert and Maryse would love them no matter what. They said they loved all of their children unconditionally and that would never change.

'Well that was a bunch of bullshit!' Alec thought as he drove through the streets of New York. Today was a day full of unexpected surprises for Alec. He'd had lunch with his parents to discuss college since the first semester of his freshman year was in full swing, and Alec had thought that since his siblings weren't home, he could discuss the real reason for requesting the lunch date. Alec finally decided to open up to Robert and Maryse about his sexuality. He wasn't ashamed of who he was, he just kept it private because he hadn't met anyone yet. He figured that after he'd started college at the end of the summer, he'd maybe meet someone, and he didn't want it to be a shock to everyone when he decided to bring this potential, and perhaps unconventional, partner home to meet his family for the first time. Alec had finally told his parents that he was gay, and what did they do? Well, they disowned him and kicked him out of the house. They took away his cell phone, laptop, and his inheritance and told him that he was a disgrace to the Lightwood name. The only things Alec had with him were his clothes and his car. Robert and Maryse were at least decent enough to let him have his baby; a black, 2016 Camaro. He parked the car in the college parking lot. At least he was still able to continue college since his tuition was covered by academic scholarships. Now he just needed to find a job along with a place to live. Alec knew it was going to be hard juggling a full time job, as well as maintaining his GPA to keep his scholarship, but it was the price Alec had to pay in order for him to be who he was.

Walking into his English class, Alec automatically spotted his friend Clary sitting in her usual seat. It was never hard to find his petite friend, despite her small stature. She had flaming red, curly, waist length hair, emerald green eyes, and flawless porcelain skin. Clary was absolutely beautiful. If Alec wasn't gay, he would probably have dated her. Alec and Clary had become pretty close during this class; she was the first person he'd met at the school and whenever they were there, they were attached at the hip. Clary was studying to become a Nurse Practitioner so they knew they were going to have a lot of classes together, starting off, at least. In order for Clary to become an NP, she'd basically have to get her doctorate. Alec once asked her why she didn't just go to medical school and her answer seemed simple enough. Her parents were both doctors. Her father was a general surgeon, and her mother was a NICU doctor.

Her brother had just been accepted to Harvard Medical School, to follow in their father's footsteps, but every time Clary watched her parents work, she realized that they both seemed to lack the sense of bedside etiquette that the nursing staff had. When she explained to her parents that she wanted to be a nurse so she could focus more on the patient care, her parents hadn't seemed to mind. From what Clary told him, Alec understood that they both cared deeply about their nurses and said that the medical field needed more people like Clary. Alec had always been very proud of what his friend wished to achieve. Nurses tended to get the short end of the stick when it came to their careers, which mostly had to do with the way the doctors treat their staff, the way the patients treat the nurses, and even the attitudes of the family members of the patients. It truly took a person with a pure heart in order to be, and succeed, in the nursing field. Clary was definitely that person.

Alec sat down next to Clary and gave her a small smile. She gave him a questioning look in return, but Alec just shook his head and mouthed, 'I'll tell you later'. Clary just nodded and faced forward when the professor walked in. They sat through the lecture trying to keep themselves awake; before long Clary was doodling in her notebook while Alec was spacing out. Alec wasn't paying attention to his professor giving a lecture about material that he would probably never use again. He just couldn't get the words that his parents had said to him out of his head.