The Pledge. 

When Lexi was small, Max was everything to her, and she was everything to Max. One time Lexi caught a cold, nothing major, but considering that she didn’t have the energy too get out of bed, it felt pretty major to them. Lexi was always the one dragging him out to play and fight, but now she was the one who was hiding under the covers whenever the light was turned on. Lexi kept insisting she would be fine soon, but Max, who was really distressed, was so sure she was going to die. When he voiced his thoughts, Lexi made him promise that even if she died, which she wasn’t going too, he wouldn’t follow her to the afterlife, but would rather live for both of them. He agreed, and in exchange, he made her promise the same for if he died. Lexi had promised. It had been their secret, something they had never mentioned again.


Dog tag.

_When she came back, bowing in at the door, Lexi had swapped her crisp white GI for a pair of lose khaki three quarter pants and a grey tee-shirt, her hoodie wrapped round her waist and a glinting silver dog tag round her neck._

Lexi’s most prized possession was her dog tag. It had been a gift from Max on their tenth birthday. On one side her name was engraved, on the other, was a pair of wings and the words, Wings of the Fight. Lexi always wore her dog tag. Always.