I'm not the only one in my reflection.

Part twenty-four

— That's a good idea. — Macher murmured approvingly to Chad, as he pulled out a notebook and pen and began jotting down his sister's key points and suggestions. The guy gave her a brief smile, beaming at the praise, but he soon refocused on his relative's speech.

— Your uncle looks lost. — Samantha whispered in her lover's ear, confirming what she had already noticed.

— Yes, I can see that. It must be hard for someone who hasn't been involved with this before. I felt almost the same way in 2022, even though I had heard a few stories from Sidney. Hey, Mindy, sorry to interrupt, but could you please express yourself more clearly? We're already used to you, but there are others who aren't.

Chad's sister raised an eyebrow at her friend's words, her expression saying that she didn't care if someone couldn't keep up with her thoughts, it was their problem.

— Okay, I'll try. – Meeks-Martin gave in when she saw that her own girlfriend was on the list of people who didn't fully understand her words. 

— There are definitely more suspects, although it's clear who's behind the mask. — Sidney's niece muttered under her breath, so no one could hear her, including Carpenter herself, who rested her chin on her shoulder and clasped her hands around her stomach. She looked first at Ethan, her main suspect, then at Quinn, and finally, hesitantly, at Oliver.

— College, more new suspicious characters who could end up as corpses. — Samantha echoed Mindy's words, absently chewing on her lower lip, unknowingly (knowingly) distracting her lover with this movement.

— It's like a Stab 2. Is he copying movies? — Roman's daughter interjected, and Mindy snapped her fingers in her direction.

— Almost. Our killer could just copy the movies if we were in a simple sequel, but we're not in a sequel. We're in a franchise! — Mindy exclaimed excitedly, spreading her arms wide and posing proudly, proud of herself and her brain.

— Franchise... — Katherine repeated in a lost voice, and Ethan muttered, "I don't like this." As if anyone cared what he liked or disliked. — And really, are there any new rules? Can't we go back to the original rules? It was so simple.

The elder Carpenter placed a light kiss on the side of her girlfriend's throat, urging her to stop grumbling for a moment and listen to their new rules.

— Is smashing the head close enough to cutting off the head? — Macher murmured thoughtfully to herself, playing with her lover's fingers. — Because if the first rule of «Everything is bigger than last time" includes cutting off heads, I should stock up on hammers.

After hearing the second rule, Sam sighed wearily, burying her forehead in the shoulder of another brunette, and Tara in the background looked at them with a soft smile. She was just glad that her older sister and her best friend, with whom she wanted to at least try to establish friendly contact again, seemed to be having a good time together.

Stu's niece, listening intently to Mindy, nodded her head briefly and abruptly a few times, agreeing with her opinion here and there, and she smiled as she felt her beloved mumbling in various moments of Chad's sister's explanations, trying to understand and retain her words in her mind.

According to the second rule, which states that «Whatever happened last time, expect the opposite» Leslie's daughter was mentally constructing a psychological profile of their current Ghostface.

And finally, the third rule: «No one is safe.» This particular rule made everyone collectively shudder.

After Chad's sister explained the same thing about the "worst part," Katherine mumbled thoughtfully when she heard that she, Tara, and Sam, being the main characters, were in particular danger.

After Ethan's comment about being a virgin, Macher looked at him in disbelief, scanning his face.

— Are you a virgin? It's hard to believe, I think your curls could charm many girls. — Leaning back, her back against her girlfriend's chest, Macher heard a slight chuckle from Chad and Tara, who were leaning in close, speaking so softly and quickly that no one could hear them except for the two of them. — Hey, you two, don't tease Landry. Maybe he thought that the "virgin always survives" principle would still apply.

— Thank you, Katherine. — The guy exhaled deeply, as if what the girl said, even coming to his defense, gave him the courage to stop being embarrassed. He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder.

— Never touch me. — The brunette growled, jerking her shoulder and shrugging off Ethan's hand, who leaned back.

— Now, youngsters, listen to me before you go on explaining what we're all going through right now. I'd like to point out that I knew the last victim who was killed by the Ghostface yesterday. The victim was my neighbor. Yesterday, we were sitting together in my apartment, drinking and talking about everything, but that's not important. I left to meet my niece, and I allowed my neighbor to stay at my place. I was delayed a little on my way home, stopped at the store, all that, but as soon as I got back, I saw the door was brutally broken open, and then in my living room, the body of my neighbor. He was killed recently, about an hour ago, according to a secret informant of mine, a police officer. I think Ghostface was after me, but he didn't have enough information and mistook my neighbor for me.

The man's niece chuckled, running her hand through her hair. — Of course. Your neighbor was killed shortly after you left. Just when I was alone.

— First of all, was there anyone else who saw your neighbor alive after you left? Secondly, Kat, don't worry, you can't be accused, as you wouldn't have physically had time to reach Oliver's house, kill his neighbor, and return before anyone was in your apartment. Plus, the camera in the door captured your conversation with Ghostface, so you're fine. However, Oliver... — Mindy said, raising an eyebrow and staring directly into the man's eyes.

Oliver gave the girl a hard look in return, seeing his niece's trusting gaze waver.

— Okay, Oliver, we've taken note of that. It's time to discuss the suspects. — The former redhead nodded at the older man's words, confirming that she, like the others, had heard him.

After going through each newcomer, analyzing their personalities, and even including her girlfriend and her friend's uncle on the list of suspects, Meeks-Martin clapped her hands and sat down in an empty seat next to Anika.

After Ethan jumped in, claiming that the five survivors of the 2022 Ghostfaces should also be among the suspects, Quinn joined in and looked directly at Roman's daughter with a strange expression.

— No offense, Katherine, but you literally smashed your mother's head into a pulp with a hammer. I think it might have had a little bit of an impact on you and left you with a certain amount of trauma, not to mention the fact that you also discovered your father's identity and realized that your ex-girlfriend was also a murderer! I think it might have caused you to, uh, lose your shit in a way.

Landry started talking as soon as Quinn stopped. They had become very close recently, as Sidney's niece had noticed with suspicion.

— Or have the murders brought you a portion of glory, and you want more.

Katherine laced her fingers with Samantha's, feeling her tense as Ethan's lunge clearly touched both her and her girlfriend at the same time.

— Don't you dare say Sam's name in your dirty mouth, okay? — Macher fumed, leaning forward as if about to pounce on Chad's roommate, but the older Carpenter wrapped her arms around her shoulders again, hugging her to herself, preventing her from starting an argument with the guy.

Well, Tara supported her outrage, and she was able to speak to Ethan on their behalf.

— Okay, people, I have some information for you. - Quinn jumped up from the bench and waved her hands to get everyone's attention. — But before I share the main piece of information, I want to share my father's observation. He discovered that Charles, Oliver's murdered neighbor, had also visited the same deceased therapist as Sam. Just by the way. Leslie Macher's mask was found at the scene of the therapist's murder, and Oliver's neighbor had a Jill Roberts mask.