The Freak| Jimmy Darling

Chapter Twenty.

It has been three days since I left the show and I couldn't be more relaxed. Peter has been a total sweetheart. I'll never understand how or why he forgave me for leaving him so long ago and how he can just get over it so quickly. He's a real life superhero.

"I can't believe it's already been three days," I said to him while we were sitting by the pool.

"Well ya know what they say. Time goes by when you're having fun," he responded.

"I guess so," I said with a chuckle.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you. Are you Melanie Oswald?" Someone asked me.

I turned around and saw the receptionist. She was being nice cause I had makeup on.

"Yes. Is something wrong?" I asked.

"We've got a call for you in the front office. They say it's urgent," She responded.

I got up. "Do you have a name of the caller?" I asked.

"Yes. A miss Ethel Darling," she said.

"Okay. Thank you. I'll be right back Peter," I said and rushed to the front office. Ethel would never call me on vacation unless it was something important.

I picked up the phone. "Ethel? It's Melanie," I said.

"Oh hi Melanie. I'm sorry to bother you," she said. I could tell by her voice that something was very wrong.

"Ethel? What happened?" I asked.

"Melanie- I'm not sure how to say this," Ethel said. I think she was crying.

"Just say it, Ethel!" I said. She's scaring me.

"Ma Petite is gone, Melanie. We found her bloody dress in the woods," she said.

I dropped the phone. She can't be gone. What or who could ever take that little ball of joy's life.  I let out a sob as tears ran down my face. Peter ran in the office and hugged me as I fell to the ground.

I realized that there is no more innocence in my life. Meep and Ma were the only two things that gave me hope. Now I have nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Some Time Later...

It's been a few hours since Peter carried me back to the room. I haven't spoken or moved since then.

My eyes were hurt from all of the tears I had cried. My head hurt from crying so much.
My whole body hurt from how much pain I felt.

"Melanie? I got us some McDonald's," Peter said, coming in through the door.

I didn't answer but finally sat up. My neck was really stiff, so I turned my head to the side. I moved my head until my neck felt normal.

"I kinda just guessed about what you'd like," he said.

"That's fine. I'll eat anything right now," I said quietly.

"Okay," he said and tossed me a hamburger.

I grabbed it and came to the table that was in the room. He gave me French fries as well and I start to eat.

"Do you want to go back?" He asked me.

"Tomorrow. I can't go back looking like this," I said with a small laugh.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked.

"I didn't tell you?" I asked, eating a French fry.

"No. You didn't want to. Which is totally understandable. And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said.

"It's fine. I'm not sure if you remember Ma Petite from the show. She was the little one who played the viola," I said.

"Yeah. I do. She was one of the best parts of the show," he responded with a smile.

"Well she's gone. They found her bloody dress in the woods. An animal probably got her," I said, my voice cracking. The hamburger wasn't appealing anymore.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know," he said.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known," I said.

He gave a small smile and continued to eat.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" He asked.

"Yeah. Tomorrow," I responded.

The Next Day.

I've done a lot of thinking. And I've realized that maybe I'm not supposed to be happy. Maybe the world wasn't meant to be perfect for me. Maybe I should just give up. Maybe-

"You ready to go?" Peter asked me after he put my suitcase in the trunk.

He started the engine and we left the hotel. The paradise. And now we go back to the show. The hell.

I dozed off while we were driving and the ride seemed to last two minutes. When we pulled up to the tents, I turned to Peter.

"Will you stay in Jupiter?" I asked.

"For a little while, yeah. But I have to go back soon. I left my dog with a friend and I have to go back to them at some point," he said.

I nodded and looked at the tent sadly. "But I'm always just a phone call away. I'll rescue you from this hellhole anytime," he said.

"Thank you. I appreciate that," I said.

"Love you," he said.

"Love you too," I said and got out of the car.

I walked to the trunk and threw my luggage off to the side. I waved at Peter somberly and then watched as he left.

I turned to the main tent and slowly walked inside. Everyone was there and eating lunch quietly. Just seeing everyone's faces made tears form in my eyes. Nobody knew that I was standing there. I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't form words.

So I just sat down at the table and poured myself a glass of orange juice. Everyone knew I was there now.

"I can't say how sorry I am for not being here to search for her. I had no idea-" I began before a sob escaped my lips.

"There's nothing you could've done," Suzi said.

A tear fell down my face. "I should've stayed. I should've been here," I said.

"Melanie. Nobody blames you for leaving. You saw the opportunity to leave this hell for awhile and you took it. Anyone would've done it," Eve said.

I started crying. "I'm sorry," I choked out.

Everyone slowly got up and hugged me. A group hug. It was Paul, Penny, Suzi, Eve, Salt, Pepper, Desiree, and Ethel. I have nobody else besides Peter. Elsa doesn't care about anyone but herself, the twins are nowhere to be seen, Dell is a douchebag, Stanley and Maggie are suspicious creeps, and then there's Jimmy. Jimmy hates my guts even though I did nothing. All I've ever done is love him but he doesn't love me back. But I guess I can't be too angry. Because I'm supposed to be happy for him. Happiness. Am I ever going to feel that again? Probably not.

Author's Note:
hey! sorry that this is another short chapter. I was planning on doing a giant chapter but decided to break it into two shorter chapters. shit is about to hit the fan so... be prepared for that lmao. thanks for reading! ❤️
-B