FLOWERS

Verbena

"I don't know what I am." He said. He hadn't said anything since they had left the motel. It was sudden, but Lilly had expected it. She had been worried that Sam wouldn't talk to her at all, but she knew he had something on his mind and so she was patient. She didn't want to disturb him. She didn't want to push harder than she needed too. If there was one thing her mother had taught her it was. "Patience is a virtue. You want something out of a guy, you gotta be patient. They're weird creatures. Your father made that clear. I don't know how many times I just sat in silence waiting for that FSS to make up his damn mind. Maybe I waited to long. Maybe that's why he left." And Lilly really didn't want Sam to leave. She needed him. She loved him. She didn't have anyone else. And until recently, she didn't even know she needed someone to begin with. She was used to being alone. It made sense to her. People muddied things up. They made life messy. Silence and solitude was where a killer strived most. Lilly placed her arm on Sam's to try to confort him. She didn't know what was wrong, but she would help whereever possible. "I've seen so much death since I met you. I've been raped and hurt. I've watched so many violent things happen too good people. And the thing is... I don't know how I feel about it. Just last month, I was an art major with an associates degree, and now... Well... I don't know."

Lilly didn't respond, not that she would know what to say.

"The first time we met... You came into my room to kill me. I saw your knife and your mask... It wasn't until later that I realised why you had them."

Lilly looked away, honestly ashamed.

"And the more I learn about you and your world... the weirder things get. I mean, you've got a dead kid in your head that tells you what to do, you killed your own mother, you... Well, Lilly... you're nuts. You're actually insane." Sam didn't turn his head from the road.

Lill felt a tear build up in her eye. She hadn't remembered the last time she had cried, but some how, this hurt her.

There was a long beat of silence.

"And I love it." Sam nodded. "I love all of this. Every murder, every act of violence. Everything. I feel..." He chewed onto the inside of his lip. "I feel powerful."

Lilly looked up at him.

"Everyone I've ever known has made me feel small and weak, but when I'm with you... when I'm with you, I don't feel that way. I feel like a boot. You know? And the rest of the world is just a bunch of ants. I feel in control. Like I get the final say." Sam felt a smile creep onto his face. "I've been beaten down my whole life. Literally thrown to the ground. And now I get to be the bully." He pressed down harder on the gas. "I get to set the rules."

Lilly felt jow fill her heart as she watched her handsom pirate boy become a man. She sat up in her seat and her heart raced as Marvin's taxi began flying down the desert road they were now on.

"I just wanna watch them bleed. Like I did." Sam's started breathing quickly. "I'm so tired of being the victim. I wanna be the bad guy. I want them to fear me, like they fear you. I want to do things on a wim just to do them. I don't want to care anymore."

80 miles per hour.

Lilly felt excitement fill her body as she watched a hill in the road. It was a steep hill. A scary hill. A problem.

"Screw it, Lilly. I love you. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

90 miles per hour.

A rabbit hopped onto the road. Sam slammed on the gas. The rabbit didn't stand a chance as it became one with the pavement. Sam grabbed Lilly's hand. "I want to die with you."

Now Lilly did have tears in her eyes. She had finally made Sam what he was meant to be. The killer she knew he could be.

100 miles per hour.