Killer Instinct

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, child abuse, and emotional abuse.

Throughout the story, Cassie keeps a tube of Rose Red lipstick in her pocket and often plays with it when she is reflecting on her past or working out current problems. The lipstick reminds her of her mother, who wore that shade before she was murdered. However, it was also given to her by her aunt, Lacey Locke, who was revealed to be a serial killer in The Naturals and kept her victims’ lipsticks as trophies.

With its complex legacy, Cassie’s lipstick symbolizes different aspects of her journey. As she explains, the tube “had been a gift from Locke to [her], part of the sick game she’d played, doling out clues, grooming [her] in her own image” (27). In connecting Cassie to both her mother and her aunt, the lipstick thus symbolizes her family trauma: “It was a masochistic reminder: of the people I’d trusted, the people I’d lost” (28). In addition to illustrating The Impact of Trauma on Behavior and Emotion, the lipstick represents Cassie’s related struggle with Biological Heritage Versus Found Family—specifically, her conflicting emotions as she feels torn between her moral principles and her ability to empathize with “monsters.