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

Mom?

Over a week has passed since Nacha knocked on my door. Ever since it happened, things went downhill and things happened that can't be explained. Let's talk about what actually happened...

I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to find Nacha, standing on my doorstep, a warm smile on her face.

I faked a smile and thanked her for her help again. I really hoped she would have overlooked about that thing with Francis, no, it was Jorekis...

But as we chatted, Nacha mentioned that she had seen me on a date with a man at the restaurant. I was taken aback. But Nacha was quick to reassure me that she was just curious and meant no harm.

"I just wanted to let you know that the man you were with is Frank. We used to be very close, but he disappeared suddenly. I thought you should know," Nacha said, her tone turning serious.

I froze as soon as she mentioned that name. I had no idea that she actually saw us. In fact, I was hoping the tables couldn't be seen from the kitchen. I felt a knot form in my stomach.

But before I could say anything, Nacha continued, "He is the father of my daughter. We were, well, married but he left without a word. I had no idea where he went or what happened to him. I just wanted you to know the truth."

I was shocked and didn't know how to react. I had been keeping my relationship with Francis a secret as much as I could, and the dates with Jorekis, I tried to keep them a secret as much as I could. I didn't know what to do or say, and I was torn between telling Nacha the truth or pretending to be clueless.

But Nacha seemed to sense my hesitation and said, "I can see that this is a lot to take in for you. Don't worry, I won't bother you with this anymore. It's just that I saw him again after so long, and I couldn't help but wonder who he was with."

With that, Nacha bid me goodbye and went back to her apartment. I was left standing there, unsure of what to do. I knew that I had to tell Nacha the truth, but I was scared of how she would react. Would she be angry? Hurt? Confused? What was she feeling at that time? I tried to avoid it, but that day I was caught. Me and Francis. No, that was Jorekis. She wasn't talking about Francis, she saw his Doppelgänger. That didn't make the situation better... because ironically, she was correct. The man, Doppelgänger... monster... whatever, she saw me with. That was the father of Anastacha.

As I tried to gather my thoughts, I heard a knock on my door once again. It was Francis. I let him in and told him everything that Nacha had said. He was shocked and didn't know how to react.

We talked for hours, trying to figure out what to do. We didn't want to hurt Nacha or her daughter, but we also didn't want to keep lying to them. It was a difficult decision, but we finally decided to tell Nacha a thing or 2. I still regret that...

The next day, we went to her apartment and told her about Jorekis. Nacha was understandably upset and hurt, but she also understood it wasn't anyones fault. She even admitted that she had always suspected that Francis was living in the same apartment complex as her, but knew that wasn't the one she knew, that something was off...

As we talked, Nacha's daughter came running into the room, excited to see her "father". She had no idea that he had been living just a few doors away from her all this time. Nacha and Francis were reunited, and it was a bittersweet moment, but most importantly a moment of truth. And turns out, Francis was introduced to Nacha by her father, who wanted to arrange a marriage but he knew early on it wouldn't work out. Jorekis pretended to be Francis, told her his name was changed to Frank, shortly after Francis left her, telling her he changed his mind, then married her a month later and soon having Anastacha...

Nacha clearly stated her anger towards Jorekis, for lying to her, for giving her the illusion of a future, only to run away. Her heart was shattered after that realization. They have been married for 4 years when he disappeared. After that, we made peace and Francis stopped avoiding her.

But since there was always a sense of unease in the apartment complex. Nacha's daughter was the only one who didn't know the truth about her father. And I couldn't help but wonder if she would find out someday.

One day, Nacha and I were talking in the hallway when she mentioned that she had never been to Francis' apartment. She had always assumed that he had moved to a different state or country after he disappeared. But she never thought to look around the apartment complex.

I felt a chill run down my spine as Nacha's words sunk in. But she never did that before. It made me wonder if there was something more to Francis', no, Jorekis' disappearance that we didn't know about.

As days went by, I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. I started noticing strange things happening in the building, and I couldn't help but wonder if Nacha had found out the truth earlier and was keeping it from us.

One night, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to confront Nacha. But when I went downstairs, I found her apartment empty. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

I searched the entire building, but Nacha was nowhere to be found. I asked around, informed the D.D.D., nothing... One day, her daughter came to my apartment, crying and asking for her mother. We searched the building together, but we never found Nacha, neither did the D.D.D, nor anyone else saw her. None of the people who worked by the entrance saw her come or leave.

A week later, Nacha's disappearance remains a mystery. But some say that she never truly left the building. The neighbours who knew her said they feel like she's still here, despite not being able to see or hear her...

As for me, I can't help but wonder if Nacha found out something about Francis or Jorekis that we never knew. Something that led to her disappearance. And I can't help but feel guilty for not telling her the truth sooner.

Anastacha, a usually calm kid, is now nervous all the time and skips all her classes. Sometimes she sleeps on my couch because she's too scared to sleep alone...

I went on a few more dates with Jorekis, but even he noticed something was wrong. We went to the same restaurant, I insisted on it and I "accidentally" spilled something on my dress again. I used that opportunity to visit the kitchen. An older lady opened "Nacha? We haven't seen her in a week, our boss tried to contact her but only her daughter picked up"

Over a week has passed. I take Anastacha to work with me, trying to keep her busy with quizbooks and pencils. She is drawing a lot. Despite being a kid she's exceptionally gifted. Sometimes I help with her homework. Thank god her teacher lives here too.

My shift ends and I bring Anastacha to bed. My place isn't big, but I tried to make it cozy for her.

"Good night, I'm going to my 2nd job now. If something happens please tell the doorman, okay?" She nods. I never saw myself as a mom for her, or a mom at all. But she's just a kid, she lost her mom and nobody else would take care of her. Francis has been awfully cold since then.

"Jorekis?" I ask, hoping to attract him. He suddenly appears behind me.

The date was nothing special, we were talking about the nature of humans, the monsters, mixed folks and more. When I suddenly realized...

If half humans, where the father is the monster can't be copied by Doppelgängers... the father of Anastacha is Jorekis... Jorekis is full monster... Nacha is human...

But I have clearly seen Doppelgängers copy Anastacha...