the brother we share | marley.

M A X I N E

If Maxine Pryce wasn't so stubborn she might admit that she'd been kind of an arse to Marley these past few years.

Might.

She had never been good at sharing. Only with Mickey. Mackenzie. Nicknames seemed childish and they were twenty now - but Mackenzie was so much wiser. His soul had aged two more decades in that arena. Perhaps in stealing all of those lives he'd taken their years, too. Years they could of had. Maxine wouldn't have cared. She'd have taken 48 lives just to have Mickey back. She'd have taken her own, if she had to, just to let him live.

But Max wasn't in the arena. Mickey was. And when he came back he brought so much with him. So many eyes, ears, hands - Max had to share and she didn't like that. 

Marley, though. He was a tricky one. Max didn't like sharing. It had been just the three of them: Max, Mickey, Mom - and now Marley. If three was a crowd then what on earth had that made their family now?

But just because Mickey was the one to grow up fast didn't mean Max couldn't learn a thing or two about forgiveness. Starting with herself, the victor's twin had to learn how to seek it out - not expect it.

It was a daunting concept. She'd so willingly slaughter two dozen children for one brother, how hard could an apology to another one be?

"You know," she began, approaching Marley from behind, "I swore I'd kill our Dad if Mickey didn't live."

Stopping beside him, she gazed out one of the windows of her home that looked upon the horizon of the district, sunset orange in the sky. "Lucky bastard, huh?"

Giggling at her own joke, Maxine sighed - turning to her half-brother. "We decided not to tell him, in the end. Because I don't like sharing. I'm sure you've figured that out already."

Here comes the hard part. The girl swallowed, hard, and looked him in the eyes. 

So foreign, and yet-

"I'm sorry for being an ass" she confessed, shrugging into her apology. "Ignoring you and all. I know Mickey thinks you're great, so..."

He looked just like Mackenzie.

Hugging her arms, Max sank into her sweater and looked back to the ending day. It was moments like this that she missed her twin the most - when he was gone. Sleepless nights, terrors that came with any sort of rest, a lack of appetite - it returned, every year, like clockwork. His absence reminded her of then, and suddenly today felt very, very far away..

"I'm gonna try be a better sister."

For Mickey, she'd do anything.

"If you're okay with that."