I'm not the only one in my reflection.

Part ten

Murphy took out her phone, where there were several more missed messages. It's all from Sam and Tara.

The younger Carpenter texted her to be okay, that she would like her best friend to leave right now with them, but since this is not the case, then let the redhead just be relatively safe. That they would meet soon, when the whole situation with these particular Ghostface was over.

Because a Ghostface never goes away forever, new ones come to replace the past, and so every fucking time.

Katherine opened the messages from the elder Carpenter with caution and a rapidly pounding heart in her chest. Sam wrote about her feelings that she fell in love with her again, just like a few years ago.

She wrote how she wished she was with them, that they could come back for her, or wait for her, or whatever, as long as the redhead was in the same car with them in the direction of leaving the city. She even explained why Richie is with them, even though Samantha broke up with him.

Murphy thought about the answer for a long time. She wrote a few words and turned off the phone.

— Are you sure you're going to be okay? — Amber asked uncertainly, tightening her grip on the steering wheel of her girlfriend's car.

She no longer felt the elation that the brunette had caused in her throughout their relationship.

— Yes. — The redhead turned her head in Freeman's direction and smiled faintly. She knew what she had to do and she needed a few hours to get ready. Happy Stu was sitting in the back seat and reflected in the rearview mirror with a wide satisfied smile on his face. He was so excited about what his niece was going to do. — Do you remember when I told you I'd come to your party? Eventually, all our friends will be there. For Wes.

— Everyone except Tara. — Freeman muttered to herself, not expecting her girlfriend to hear.

Then suddenly a thought came to Katherine's head, she doesn't know exactly why she remembered it, but maybe because of her guilt over kissing Samantha.

She remembered that Amber had kissed Tara once during their relationship. The younger Carpenter, feeling guilty for what she had done, began to avoid her best friend, and realizing that this did not reduce her bitter feelings, she began to beg her forgiveness.

Surprisingly, it was she who confessed to the redhead what had happened. Not Freeman, who was silent until the last moment, and when there was no point in hiding, came to apologize and claimed that she and Tara were drunk and did not understand what they were doing until it was too late.

— You know, if we survive your party, I still want to go on that date with you that I had planned earlier.

Amber looked at her girlfriend who said that and nodded with a smile. She slowed down near the red-haired girl's motorhome. Leslie's car was parked nearby. What the hell is she doing here?

— Mom's here. — Murphy muttered, feeling her mood getting even worse than it already was. — I'll be at your house in a few hours.

— I'm looking forward to it. — The brunette winked and drove away.

Katherine stopped on the small path leading to the trailer and began to inspect it carefully. She saw several small windows, the lights were off, and Leslie didn't have any keys, so she was probably somewhere nearby, not inside.

The girl took out her keys and, deliberately jingling them, went to the door. She sighed heavily, realizing that she would have to contact her mother, after every meeting with whom she felt in a suspended, unpleasant state.

Murphy, as in the case of Vince, has come to terms with what Leslie is by nature. She accepted that this woman didn't really need children, but she got them anyway. What for is another question. She accepted that she would never have a normal biological mother or brother.

The redhead, surprisingly, heard the light patter of her mother's shoes on the ground and turned around. But Leslie surprised the girl, not only by coming to her daughter at all, but rather by her small smile, which formed her lips. She was wearing her pantsuit. As always, she is impeccable.

— Em. — Katherine took a step back when she saw her mother's slight smile. She never smiled at her children. Being sober, at least. — Is there something urgent for you? I'm in a hurry, Amber's going to have a party, I'm going to spend the whole evening there and- — The girl broke off, painfully biting her tongue, wanting to remind herself that her mother didn't care about her and even more so where she would spend her evening. Just like she didn't care about her son's death. — You know, it doesn't matter. Good luck at work or something like that.

— How are you feeling?

The whiplash sound that Murphy's neck made when she jerked her head sharply towards her mother upon hearing her question might have excited her, but not in this situation.

— What? — Out of habit, the redhead looked around in confusion, trying to figure out if she had missed the fact that some of Leslie's friends were at her mobile home, with whom the woman was talking, because, of course, her mother could not just ask about her condition. — Are you talking to me?

— Do you see someone else?

— No, but you never visited me in the hospital while I was lying there after the first Ghostface attack, or texted me or called me after the second. And so... you definitely need something, so just say it and don't keep me or yourself. — A daughter who has survived two attacks by a masked psycho asking her mother why she is talking and worrying about her is a truly sad sight. But it's pretty common for the redhead herself, unfortunately.

Katherine watched Leslie in disbelief, trying to figure out what she might need from her. A woman definitely wouldn't communicate with her daughter if she didn't want something from her, when just a week ago she didn't even want to look at her, let alone say a few words.

When Murphy was still a little girl who did not know the whole history of her family, she spent days trying to figure out what was wrong with her if her own mother glanced at her dark hair with disgust, looked at her facial features with hatred. Because of her age, she analyzed her own behavior and tried to be a good girl, but nothing she did or corrected in herself helped earn her mother's love and attention.

Not that Vince was any luckier. Leslie couldn't give him love, care, or maternal tenderness either.

And then Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker happened, and the mother's behavior became more understandable to the redhead. Everything fell into place.

— No. I don't need anything from you.

— I'll, uh, go. — Katherine chose the path of ignoring her mother's strange behavior and began to insert the key into the lock, wanting to escape from her mother's attentive gaze as soon as possible.

Murphy, followed by Leslie's gaze, opened the door and slammed it behind her. Only after she closed the blinds on the windows of the motorhome, the woman got into her car and drove away.

The redhead watched her mother's car drive away from the place where her motorhome was parked, pushing the curtain aside a little. She took a few steps back and looked around helplessly, not knowing what to do with all this.

The girl shuffled to the part of the motorhome where the bed was and, bending down, took out a box from under the bed. She sat down on the bed, crossed her legs and placed the find in front of her. On the cardboard bottom were several different knives, a pack of paint and a black leather braided bracelet.

Smiling, she took the butterfly knife and, making a small movement with her wrist, pulled out the blade. Her brother's knives, which she found in his glove compartment when she examined the car she had inherited.

Then the blue eyes moved to the pack of paint and Katherine, picking it up, smiled even wider, as did Stu, who appeared next to her.