Chapter 59: Unfair Disillusionment
It was sunset hours, and Dixie was sitting on some rocks on the beach. She thought about all the individuals she knew from Hurricane Island and all the things that were mentioned in that letter that she never wrote. She tried to figure out who might have been the author of all that, but she couldn't get any final answer yet, she couldn't even find any logic to it.
Dixie needed to go find Diddy; she wondered how he would be at that moment. Maybe for him it was all over, but not for her, not until she could prove that all those defamations that had been made to her were false. Dixie feared that she would never find an answer and Diddy would never believe her; she didn't want to throw away a relationship that both of them had been building and had wanted so much to have.
She even went around the beach several times to see if Jemky, Melenky or the four bully kids appeared again... Although that didn't seem to happen nor was there a trace of them, which became strange, since in addition... she thought that if they wanted to hurt them both, they would have already done it and wouldn't let themselves show out of nowhere just how Jemky had arrived with Melenky. It came to cross her mind that the situation of running into those bullies didn't even look as threatening as she thought.
Then, she headed towards the animal shelter, as the animals that were from the circus were the first to inform them that Jemky and Melenky had arrived to look for them. Now she understood why those animals were nervous to tell them that, so she assumed they would have some clues.
Upon arriving at the shelter, she looked directly for those three animals that had informed her about it. It wasn't so difficult, since she barely arrived, those animals noticed her presence as if she were the center of attention.
"Dixie! How is it going?" everyone from the circus greeted her, some cheerful, and others, on the other hand, looked at her with uncertainty as if they knew something about the topic.
"Hey, I need you to tell me something," Dixie said seriously. "Those of you who had told Diddy and me that those two kids were looking for us: I want to talk to you. What did those two kids say to you?!"
"By the way, Dixie... Really…" said the same zebra that had informed them, "was that orangutan boy your... another boyfriend?"
"What?! No!" Dixie replied firmly and disgustedly. "Of course not!"
"That's what he told us," added a gorilla. "He said that he had come looking for you, that he had a surprise for you."
"Oh, no, of course not!" reaffirmed Dixie. "Those two kids who came were from the group of thugs from the school Diddy and I were going to. And that orangutan is not my boyfriend; he's an insane psychopathic kid; he's crazy!... Why didn't you tell us earlier that those looking for us were an orangutan and a red-shanked langur?"
"We thought that was true!" replied an elephant. "And you know, we were afraid of how Diddy would react; we didn't want you two to fight."
"Oh, but you would have told us anyway," Dixie replied before looking down in frustration. "Oh, so what! You didn't know those fools, anyways. And yes, Diddy got upset with me now... He even wanted us to break up."
"What?!" exclaimed the animals, showing shock. "But why? Aren't you two supposed to trust each other? You could explain it to him and tell him that it was all a misunderstanding, wasn't it?"
"I know. But it's that it's not a simple misunderstanding; you don't know what that idiot orangutan did," Dixie said, feeling indignant again. "He showed us a letter that according to him I sent it, it even had my own handwriting, but I have no idea who sent it or if they made it themselves. By the way... didn't he tell you about that letter or do you know anything about it?"
"Well, yes... He showed us that letter so quickly and we saw that it was from you," the animals replied with concern. "But what exactly was it saying? So, it wasn't you who sent it to him?"
"No, I swear I don't!" Dixie replied firmly, trying to calm down. "Y-you see, I'm going to tell you all this so you understand it well…"
Dixie explained to them the whole situation about the letter, about the defamations, about the painting, about the photos, even all the background before leaving DK Island, she even had to tell them about the accidental crime she committed against Jemky so that they would better understand the context, something that no one but to Diddy had told, except for her sister and cousins before leaving DK Island. All these details left increasingly shocked the animals, who began to be as concerned as Dixie.
"... what intrigues me most are those photos; I don't know how he took them if that never happened," Dixie finished telling uncertainty.
The animals were shocked with everything Dixie had told them. They stayed for a long time wondering among themselves if that had an explanation, although none seemed to have one.
"How weird," commented one of the animals. "First of all, no one could know where you two are if you came here because of a storm."
"Well, I think those bad kids have been following you two in some way," said another. "Although the real question is... How did they do it?"
"It's the same thing I want to know in the first place," Dixie replied in confusion. "I mean... in part I could understand Diddy: it's practically impossible that those fools have known about our whereabouts! And that letter even said things that only the two of us knew!"
"And at the post office you haven't asked, Dixie?"
"Yes, I also have been there," Dixie replied in frustration. "I was even told that no one but the two of us had sent letters to distant islands."
"And how about you tell Diddy to go to the post office so he'll ask himself, and he'll believe you?" a gorilla suggested.
"I want that, but he doesn't want to talk to me right now," Dixie replied.
"But I don't think you're going to be on those terms forever; at some point you'll have to talk to each other again," added another of the animals. "Or we can go to. We'll help you convince him!"
"Hey, I really appreciate it, but... you know this is just the two of us' business," Dixie told them, smiling a little.
"I know, but it's the only thing that can be done at the moment," commented another of the animals. "Try it yourself first; if you convince him, I know he'll believe you. After all, it's not good for you two to be on those terms because of what you tell us about those bad kids who defamed you."
"And if after that he doesn't want to talk to you, come back here; we'll try to explain to him," another animal told him seriously.
Dixie wasn't quite sure she could convince Diddy one more time, but at the same time, she knew it was her only alternative if she wanted to fix the situation once and for all, at least so she wouldn't be on bad terms with Diddy.
She said goodbye to the animals and left the shelter immediately. Then, she went to find Diddy; she had to find him as soon as possible, because she would have to convince him somehow: either the letters were made by the evil kids themselves or someone else could have sent them to play tricks on them.
Dixie headed to the house and hoped that Diddy had already arrived. What she didn't know was how she could talk to him after what happened; she would have to do it in the best possible way so that he would want to listen to her and be calm.
But upon arriving at the house, Dixie realized that Diddy wasn't present. She thought that maybe he was still out, with no signs of wanting to return for the time being and needing some time to himself. So, Dixie went out to the porch of the house and stopped to think about where Diddy might be right then and there.
Suddenly, being on top of the house, Dixie managed to see a silhouette in the distance... It was Diddy! He was running as if he were looking for or chasing something and, seconds later, disappeared into the trees. Dixie immediately got down from the house, and then headed as fast as she could to where she had just spotted Diddy to look for him.
She arrived at the area where she thought she had seen Diddy, and began to look for him in every corner, but she still could not find him... When suddenly, she heard some murmurs in the distance.
She seemed to have heard a couple of known voices... One of them was clearly heard to be Diddy's, while the other... was from someone who caught Dixie's attention considerably... and not in such a good way. Diddy seemed to be chasing the other entity that was being heard.
Dixie followed the sound of the voices, which only began to fill her with thoughts of uncertainty and she didn't want to be thinking about anything bad that might make her feel worse.
"But just tell me, please," Diddy was heard saying.
"I already told you! If you kiss me now, I'll tell you," replied the other voice that sounded clearly to a known female voice.
Dixie heard that everything was coming from behind some big bushes, so she headed there. When she looked out and finally arrived at the site, she got an unexpected surprise. Dixie made a gesture of enormous astonishment, while Diddy made the same gesture, and then the third someone present also did the same... The one who was accompanying Diddy was none other than Jenny.
Dixie stayed still for a few seconds and now she was sure of her thoughts she was having a couple of minutes ago, in turn that she began to tremble and fill with more overwhelming thoughts. She didn't want to be thinking about the worst.
"W-what?" stammered Dixie looking suspiciously at the scene and trying to stay calm.
Diddy was right in front of Jenny and holding her by the arms himself. He was also seen with an expression of not knowing what to say and only stared at Dixie before he could answer her. Meanwhile, Jenny continued to stay serious.
"Hi, Dixie!" Jenny said with a forced smile.
"Uh, D-Dixie…" Diddy stammered, looking at her and Jenny at the same time. "It's that J-Jenny-"
"Ah, Dixie, sorry if you don't know yet, but…" Jenny interrupted still with that same expression, "Diddy and I are going on a date," she added, hugging him and in a sweet tone. "Right, Diddy?"
"What?!" Diddy exclaimed. "No, no, wait, wait!"
"Yes, Diddy," Jenny replied. "Hadn't you told me that you broke up with Dixie and now agreed to date me? Or were you lying?"
"Yes, we broke up, but I didn't say that."
"Hey, are you denying me?!" Jenny exclaimed, pushing Diddy. "You told me you'll date me!"
"Wait a minute, Diddy!" Dixie interrupted, staring at him and trying to calm down. "D-Did you really break up with me?"
"Yes, he said he doesn't love you anymore, Dixie!" replied Jenny before him. "And then he proposed to me to go on a date."
"Nooo!" Diddy replied instantly. "I mean, I did break up with Dixie, but I-"
"Hey! But what, Diddy?!" interrupted Jenny, annoyed and giving him another push. "Is it Dixie or me?! Tell me!"
"No, no, what happens is that Jenny is-"
"Me what?!" Jenny interrupted again. "You said we were dating! You said you don't want to know anything about Dixie anymore!"
"The Dixie fact is true!" Diddy interrupted with absolute firmness. "But the other fact doesn't-"
"Diddy!" Dixie interrupted, shocked after hearing that. "Do you-"
"He's dating me!" interrupted Jenny, holding Diddy. "Tell her the truth, Diddy, don't confuse her anymore!"
"That's not the case!" Diddy replied. "I'm only here with Jenny because I just saw that she-"
"Because we're going on a date together!" interrupted Jenny insistently. "Tell her the truth, Diddy!"
Dixie was with a strong feeling in her chest and not knowing what actions to take, while several doubts when she found Diddy next to Jenny invaded her mind.
"S-sorry to interrupt!" exclaimed Dixie, looking sideways at Jenny. Then, she went to Diddy and took his arm to speak quietly and seriously. "Diddy, look, I just came to talk to you, I wanted to tell you-"
"No, leave him, Dixie!" interrupted Jenny, immediately pushing her away abruptly. "The two of us are going on a date!"
"I just need to talk to him!" replied Dixie, taking Diddy's arm again, though Jenny didn't seem to want to allow it. Then, she whispered to him quickly. "Diddy, I just have to tell you something, we have to fix this, please."
"Wait a minute, and what do you want to talk to me about?" whispered Diddy, looking at her strangely. "I'm not going to fix anything that happened if that's what you think, Dixie, because there's nothing to fix there."
Instantly, Dixie made a gesture of indignation at Diddy's response.
"Hey, I'm serious!" Dixie replied. "I don't want ours to end like this!"
"But it's already over!" replied Diddy, looking at her with the same seriousness. "And this no longer has fix, and right now-"
"But this is important, Diddy!" Dixie replied, holding him by the arm. "Just let me talk with you-"
"He doesn't want to talk to you, Dixie!" Jenny interrupted, pulling her away from Diddy. "He's now going out with me!"
"I just have to clarify an important thing for him!" replied Dixie, beginning to get angry. "I-"
"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute!" interrupted Diddy, calming the situation. "First of all... you and I really don't have anything anymore, Dixie," he added, speaking quietly, "and there's no way to fix this anymore, I'm sorry."
Dixie was much more outraged at what Diddy was telling her.
"No, wait a minute, Diddy! How's that?!" Dixie exclaimed, heading towards him. "You told me that ours is over, but not for me yet!"
"How could it not?!" replied Diddy seriously. "You didn't want to explain to me what really happened there."
"I've already told you a thousand times that I don't know or did anything, and you don't want to believe me!" replied Dixie. "That's what I came to repeat to you!"
"But how could I believe you with all that I saw?!"
"How can you think all that was true?!" Dixie added indignantly. "Are you really going to do this, Diddy?!"
"Oh, look, Dixie... I do want to believe you, but with that I have no way, really," Diddy replied, returning to a normal tone of voice, before taking Jenny's arm. "Now, if you'll excuse... I was solving something about Jenny that-"
"Yeah, Dixie, I'm sorry, but we're going out," Jenny interrupted, smiling at her with some derision. "And I know you two don't have anything anymore-"
"Wait a minute!" Dixie interrupted, before speaking to Diddy. "Ours wasn't over yet, Diddy, much less for something you can't believe me!"
"But there's no fix, Dixie!" replied Diddy, before holding Jenny's hand. "And now, I was seeing that Jenny-"
"And are you two really dating?" Dixie asked them with a doubtful look.
"No, no!" Diddy replied. "It's that Jenny isn't-"
"Yes, we're dating, Diddy!" interrupted Jenny, pushing him. "Tell her the truth!"
"That's right, Diddy!" Dixie exclaimed, also staring at him and earnestly. "Or tell me if you really wanted to date Jenny now!"
"NO!" replied Diddy. "I don't have anything with Jenny, she just-"
"How could it not?!" Jenny replied, pushing him again. "Stop denying it, Diddy, and tell her it's true!"
"But it's that it's not true, just-"
"NO, Diddy!" interrupted Dixie firmly towards Diddy. "Better tell me what all this is! You really don't love me anymore and that's why you don't want to believe me either?!"
"But there's no way to fix this, Dixie!" replied Diddy in the same way. "And I'm not going-"
"That's right, Dixie!" Jenny reaffirmed, hugging Diddy. "Diddy doesn't love you anymore because you were hiding all that from him!"
"That!" Diddy pointed firmly. "That's why I have nothing to fix with you, Dixie!"
"Hey, I didn't do it!" Dixie replied, losing her patience. "And why did you tell her-"
"Get it, Dixie!" Jenny interrupted. "You weren't real with Diddy! You had him as a second choice!" she added as Dixie adopted a shocked expression. "You were hiding from him that that orangutan boy was your boyfriend!"
"W-what?!" Dixie exclaimed, being shocked at the last thing Jenny mentioned. "Hey, but what have you been saying to Jenny, Diddy?!"
"Wait a minute!" Diddy exclaimed. "That-"
"Yeah, you told me that recently, Diddy!" Jenny interrupted. "That Dixie was a fake one to you for lying to you about that other boy and that they even had photos!"
"Hey, Diddy!" Dixie replied, looking angry. "Ugh, how could you, Diddy Kong?!"
"Wait!" Diddy exclaimed. "I didn't-"
"Admit it, Diddy!" Jenny interrupted again. "You said you're going to date me and that you don't love Dixie anymore because of what she did to you!"
"Urgh, you know what? Better break it up, Diddy!" Dixie pointed at him, before turning around angrily to leave.
"Hey, wait!" Diddy exclaimed, though before long, he made only a gesture of indifference. "Ugh, okay, whatever you say, Dixie!"
Dixie looked at Diddy again in the distance with enormous indignation at the answer, then quickened her pace and left completely... as she felt her heart end up shattering after failing to fix the situation with Diddy... And maybe she couldn't do it anymore.
Night had fallen. Dixie was at home, sitting in her hammock in the room and staring down. She was too sad and angry, wondering why all that had happened to her that day. Just half the day ago, everything was normal, and now she only had a deep wound in her heart. She wondered how it was possible that Diddy had not believed her at all about the fact that those defamations weren't real, no matter how much she reaffirmed it to him. The worst thing is that she no longer knew how to prove to Diddy that everything was false, and she even lost the mood to continue looking for answers. And now... had she somehow found Diddy along with Jenny? Dixie would never have expected that from Diddy, she was even thinking that maybe he was just doing it to make her feel bad about something she didn't do.
Dixie cried and sobbed all the time while she didn't know whether to get angry more with Jemky, Diddy or Jenny... However, Jenny was the one for whom cared the least, and for Diddy she only was quite disappointed. For whom she was exploding with fury was for Jemky; she swore to herself that if she found him again, she would make him pay for defaming her no matter what... Even her fear of finding him again had already vanished; now she only exploded with anger for him and was frustrated to know that she couldn't find him again to give him his due, and she didn't even understand how he had appeared.
Dixie didn't know what to think. At the moment, she didn't want to see Diddy after what happened, and maybe he would return to the house soon, so she decided to go out instead. She got down from the house, and then went for a walk outside.
She stopped at a place that was close to the animal shelter, since she wanted to enter it, but she also didn't want to have to give explanations if someone saw her in that mood, so she just went to sit in a corner between some bushes and rocks, on the outside of the shelter for safety.
She wanted to be calm, but suddenly, several thoughts invaded her. All she thought about was Diddy; she couldn't believe that now it was all over. After having had wonderful moments by his side, now she was only heartbroken for him, and all because of something unfair that she no longer knew how to repair. Although she said she didn't want to talk to Diddy anymore, deep down she wanted to have him in front of her and continue to affirm that nothing Jemky said and showed was true, that she would never do something like that to him. But on the other hand, she was furious when she remembered that the only thing Diddy did afterwards was go with someone who weeks before tried to separate them a few times... She kept feeling indignant after remembering that Diddy could have told Jenny what happened, and now there would be no way for them to fix it; even if she wanted to think it wasn't true, those thoughts of seeing Diddy along with Jenny reappeared in her mind... And this time she had seen them with her own eyes when she found them together.
With every thought she had, Dixie began to sob more and a lot of tears began to flow from her eyes. She didn't have any mood for anything at all, she just needed to cry as much as she could at that moment. Lastly, she also didn't know in what terms she would be with Diddy from then on, but she didn't even feel like thinking about it.