I'm not the only one in my reflection.

Part twenty-three

Katherine reached the front door, but she stopped in front of it, her hand on the doorknob. For a moment, she thought she had forgotten her balisong in her room, but she quickly shook her head to dismiss the idea.

Given everything she had learned and discovered about her family in 2022, she had a justified distrust of her newly discovered uncle.

Macher removed the security chain from the door and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her, but not slamming it shut.

— Well, hi. Oliver, am I right? — The girl awkwardly drawled, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive closed position, addressing the man.

Her eyes seemed to follow his every move lazily, taking in his appearance. He had dark shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and was tall, about half a head taller than his niece.

— Yes, uh, Oliver Milton. Your father's brother. — The man was clearly nervous, wringing his hands in front of him. — It's strange that I'm your uncle, considering I'm only a few years older than you.

— Ten years, to be specific, and I am twenty-two years old. — The brunette added in a bored tone, then she sighed, dropped her arms to her sides and looked seriously into the brown eyes of the man opposite her. — Listen, let's get right to the point. I thank you for helping us and all that, but why did you come? It's not safe for you to be around me.

— Do you think I don't know that? — Oliver smiled, pulling at the ends of his hair. — I've already put myself in great danger by intervening in that fucker's attack on you and your two friends.

— But why did you do it? Despite our blood ties, we're not family, we're not related. You probably have a family, your real family. A wife, maybe children, it's unlikely, but you could even have grandchildren. Why do you need this mess, this everything?

— I... No, I don't have a wife or children. — Milton's voice became quieter, more subdued. He looked into his niece's blue eyes, his expression haunted. — I was afraid of starting a family, you see.

Stu's niece looked at her uncle, and, after a moment's hesitation, she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder, never being very good at comforting obviously sad people, either familiar or unfamiliar.

— Are you sure you don't have a lover, whether it's a girl or a boy? I wouldn't want to deal with your vengeful lover if you died, you know.

— No, I don't have any romantic relationships with anyone. — The man looked down before he raised his head under his niece's gaze and straightened his shoulders.

— The absence of family or love still doesn't explain why you'd risk yourself for me. I'm still nothing to you. By intervening, you've potentially drawn the Ghostface's unwanted attention to yourself. Do you want that?

— You're the only family I have left. My father, mother, and brother died, and I was left alone, and then I heard on the news that Roman Bridger had a daughter that no one knew about, not even him, and then finally, something in my head clicked. I had to at least see you, and I did.

Leslie's daughter took a closer look at the man before a light bulb went off in her head.

— You were in that park! When my friends and I were coming back from a party and Sammy was getting sprayed with soda. You were the guy who ran into me.

— Yes, I'm sorry about that. — Oliver's cheeks turned red and he looked down, ashamed of what he had done. — I, umm, I was kind of shy to approach you directly a few times, so I ended up in the same place as you, let's say.

— How you gently called the rude word "stalker". — The former redhead said with a chuckle, not embarrassed by the fact that her new uncle periodically watched her from the sidelines. It's the most harmless thing any of her relatives have ever done.