FLOWERS

Rose

"Look at her, boys. Just the little slut we thought she was." Deven stood over her, pants down to his ankles, ready to do something terrible. "Alright, Little Mute, do what you do best." His two friends on either side of him, both laughing their conjoined asses off. Both the same scummy douche bags she was used to... But Deven... she thought he was different. When he passed her that note... When he joked with her by the lockers... When he asked her to Prom... All fake. Lilly didn't blame him though. Teenage hormones made boys do dumb things.

What was it Mom said? "Boys are just looking for something to put their penis in." Yeah, she was right. She shouldn't have trusted Deven. Honestly, this was her fault, her mistake. She wouldn't be stupid enough to make it again.

For now though, she'd simply let it happen and wait for it to be done. Then she'd move on with her life. It wasn't the first time this had happened anyway. And it's not like she was affected the same way as the other girls. What was it Mom said? Oh yeah, "You're not a basic bitch."

Mom was such a wise woman that way. She saw everything for what it was. Fake, Stupid and Shitty. The FSS. That's what she always called it. The economy was FSS. The government was FSS. And most importantly, "You're father was the most FSS man I ever met." Not that Lilly would know. Dad was shot in a drug deal before she was born. Now that... that was FSS...

Deven was also FSS, but Lilly should have already pieced that together. He showed all the signs of it. The Fake smile, the Stupid jokes... the Shitty personality... That's why Lilly knew this was her fault. "If you don't be cautious, the outcomes on you." Yeah, thanks Mom...

So yeah, Lilly was raped that night. But she didn't cry. Hell, she didn't even care. After it was over, she pulled up her pants and walked away. It even shocked Deven how little she cared. But he wasn't worried about being caught, because as he said, "Alright, Little Mute, do what you do best." And what she did best was not say anything.

In fact, the last time Lilly had talked was when she was 10. When she watched her big brother blow his brains out.

"Hey, Lilly, yeah, Lilly. Look over here! It's me, Toddy. Look what I got! Isn't it shiny? Hey do me a favor, ok? Shut the hell up! All you do is talk! I don't give a shit, Lilly! You're a little brat! You make me want to... Well, this." Bang.

And that was it. After that, Lilly didn't really have much to say, so she didn't. From that point all that was left was her and dear old Mom. You wanna talk FSS, Mom was the true FSS...

"Where the hell have you been? I said get here before 9!"

Lilly didn't respond, unsurprisingly.

"I have a thing tonight, you know? Now I'm gonna be late cause you were too busy screwing your prom date." She took a puff of her cigarette. "You know, I do so much shit for your little bratty ass, and you give me no respect in return. I EXPECT A BIT OF UNDERSTANDING HERE! You can't expect me to support us both when you don't even give me a second to handle my responsibilities, cause I gotta keep watching your ass!"

Lilly just ignored her, she'd tire herself out in time. Lilly went up to her room and closed and locked her bedroom door behind her. This didn't silence Mom's screaming, but at least it muffled it.

Lilly walked over to her record player and put an album on spinner. It was the spring of 1996. Most teenage girls were listening to Celine Dion's 'Because you Love Me.' Not Lilly. "You're not a Basic Bitch" No, Lilly had taken Gershwin's masterpiece, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' and completely ruined it. In her spare time she'd take the player needle and push down on it hard while forcefully spinning the record. Now all the record player was screeching and the soft undertone of a once beautiful song. This way, she'd upset all the neighbors and enjoy some pretty music at the same time. Multitasking.