*finished* That's not Francis [Milkman fanfic]

I'm not who I thought I was

It's Francis... I get so surprised to see him stand there, out of breath, a bit sweaty and...

"Is that blood??" I scream. I feel his shoulder. It's covered in blood.
"That's nothing" he says coldly. "That new doorman almost fucked up so badly, he risked all of our lives. I had no choice"

"What happened?? Francis, please" I didn't even realize until now that I'm crying...

"He let one of those monsters in. It was about to attack one of the twins. I was at the right place at the right time, I guess"
Despite being out of breath and all sweaty and bleeding somewhere around his shoulder, he seems so calm, it's terrifying.

"Marika, you have to listen. We aren't what we are supposed to be. We are different. We are among the most dangerous species in the world. Now I know you are one of us too"

I take a step back. "I'm one of... what?"

"Marika, I'm not dangerous. Not to you. I promise" he tries to take my hand but I snatch it away quickly.

"You're the daughter of one of the Nowakis sons. Their parents were known for being peaceful Doppelgängers. They dedicated their life adapting to humanity, becoming human and hiding away their evil nature"

"My father was a Doppelgänger?? There's no way"

I can't believe a single word he's saying. I almost forget he's injured so badly.

"You are half Doppelgänger and half human. And so am I, but one thing makes us very different from each other"
He says, sitting on a chair.

"You were raised as a human. You didn't know until today. I, on the other hand, I grew up in a Doppelgänger clan"

"You're joking..."

"I'm not. If anything, I'm a joke. Because I ran away like a fool 10 years ago... and in another 10 years, I will probably get killed because of that"

The way he's saying this makes a shiver run down my spine. He says it in the coldest way imaginable. He...

"Marika, the Doppelgängers can't hurt you. Your father being one of the Nowakis sons is a shield. I'm just the love child of an affair, just an unloved child without a father, that grew up between all those monsters"

"Francis... I don't know what's going on..."

"I'm a weak man. Now I'm just a simple milkman. One that will probably lose his job because I can't move my shoulder..."

I look at his shoulder. The bleeding seemed to stop.

"You're basically a celebrity in the Doppelgänger world. Everyone was talking about that one Nowakis son who married a widow with many children and had a daughter with her. They can hurt you, but they won't. It will hurt themselves more. They can't kill you, nor eat you."

"But what about you?"

"I am" he pauses "a loser. I hated being a monster. They always made teams and built stategies, but I simply didn't desire the things they desired. As soon as my own father was on his death bed, he hired people to find me. They did. That was the first and only time I talked to him. He lived in the apartment I live in now"

"I'm... sorry..."

"That was my one chance at becoming human. But once anyone finds out I'm a monster, they will stop trusting me and I have to go back to the monsters. Now they know I have no loyalty for Doppelgängers"

"Half" I say "only half, it's no big deal. I didn't realize I wasn't fully human until today"

"No, I am a monster. I was raised as a monster, despite looking human"