FLOWERS

Sun Flower

Collin Bowler was dead.

Lilly saw all of it. Every cut, every stab, every shot, every swing.

Collin Bowler was dead.

And Lilly cried.

She didn't understand why she cried. She didn't even know the kid, but for some reason, she cried.

Sam entered his Dorm Room to see her in tears. Still bloody, still bruised, and now crying. The same Lilly he who had guided his hands to end a man's life. But at that moment, she cried at a black computer screen.

"L-Lilly?"

Then there was a knock on Sam's door.

Sam begrudgingly walked over and opened it. "What?"

Outside the door stood Peggy and a police officer by her side. Peggy had black eyeliner streaks running down her face. She simply mouthed the words, "I'm sorry..." And then turned away from Sam.

"Hello son, we're looking for a miss Lilly Edwards." The officer gave a friendly smile, but Sam knew there was malice intent behind it. There was nothing he could do about that though.

"Who?"

"Your girlfriend, Sam." The officer pushed.

Sam looked over at Peggy angrily. "I see."

In moments, Lilly was by his side. Her tears wiped away and her soul once again hidden from the world. She smiled at the officer.

"Are you Miss Lilly Edwards?"

She nodded.

"Can I ask why you're covered in blood, Miss Edwards?"

"She got hit by a car." Sam butted in.

"What?" Peggy looked over at Lilly, finally. "Oh my gosh, are you ok, Hunny?"

The officer gruffly cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I asked Miss Edwards."

There was a pause.

"She doesn't talk, officer. She's mute." Sam lied.

The officer looked over to Peggy for conformation. Peggy nodded back at him. The officer didn't seem fully convinced, but he went along with it. "Alright, well. I guess I'll need the three of you to come in for questioning."

"Can I ask why sir?" Sam felt a protectiveness build in himself.

"It's about the knife that Miss Peggy Andrews found on her and Lilly's kitchen sink. It had the blood of multiple missing victims in the area, along with Miss Edwards. And yours, Sam."

Lilly didn't clean the knife. I know that might sound odd, but she didn't think so. To her, the knife represented her true self. She kept the DNA of each of her victims on it as a sort of trophy. The more it collected, the more alive it became. The more she felt alive. The more she felt real.

"In any case, it's just best if we clear this up now then later." The officer held his arm out. "I'd rather not put you in handcuffs if I don't have to." The officer smiled genuinely at that time.

Lilly held a finger out to him to tell him to hold on and walked over to Sam's computer. She pulled a flash drive from its face and pocketed it.

"Miss Edwards, I'm gonna have to ask you to show me what that is." The officer put his hand on his gun.

She pulled the flash drive out and showed it to him.

"Is that all?" The officer asked.

She nodded.