Alex smiled warmly at the redhead, noticing how nervous the girl seemed to be. He couldn’t really blame her, it was kind of weird to be brought along to deal with someone’s family. Especially when it involved the death of their father, she seemed to be determined to be there with his sister though. He was actually kind of shocked that Mackenzie had brought anyone along, she usually kept to herself about these things. She didn’t do weakness very well, the whole family knew that it usually just got vented as anger. She had broken almost every dish in the house when the whole Abigail thing had gone down.

“Either way she’s here now, and that’s what matters,” he said smiling, nudging Roger to shake the girl’s hand as well. Roger had always been the shy one, reserved just like Mackenzie, it was almost funny how similar the two were sometimes despite not being blood related. “I’m actually impressed that she trusts you enough to bring you with her when she might cry. She’s not exactly the best at expressing her emotions around other people.”

Mackenzie was horrified as her brother kept talking, her eyes flicking between Tatum and the older man. She had been incredibly touched by what the girl had said and had to resist the urge to just attach herself to the girl in front of her brothers. That would only lead to more teasing however, and she had just given the girl a gentle squeeze with her hand.

“Hey! I…don’t cry!” She protested, glaring daggers at Alex as Roger just shook his head in silent laughter. She knew that she was probably going to, but not right now, it would be later, probably when they were back at the Rover and it was just the two of them. She couldn’t let it go in front of her family like that, especially in front of Hunter. It was just too hard, too many people who were counting on her to keep together. Kia would most likely cry and she had to be the strong one for everyone. “Whatever, come on Tatum.”

She tugged the girl with her as she pushed by the still snickering men, who both gave Tatum a knowing wink as she walked by. Gripping the door handle she took a deep breath and glanced at the shorter girl for reassurance. “Ready?” she asked, not sure if she was really asking the redhead or herself. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

A small scream issued from the bed and she saw her mother launching herself away from where she had been practically in Hunter’s lap. “Oh sugar muffin!” She wailed, as she approached the two of them, seeming to be oblivious to the fact that Tatum was standing right next to her daughter. “I’m so happy you’re here! It’s awful! He’s g-gone!” She threw herself on Mackenzie, burying her face into her daughter’s shoulder and sobbing. Mackenzie just patted her mother awkwardly with her free hand, never letting go of Tatum’s. She was a bit frozen in place, scanning the room for signs of Kia to help her detach her mother but all she saw was Hunter sitting on the bed. Her eyes narrowed and she glared angrily at the taller blonde, squeezing Tatum’s hand. “T-they just took him to the m-m-morgue, I’ll never s-see him a-again!”

“I’m sorry mom,” she said quietly, rubbing the older woman’s back, eyes never leaving the cold look that she was giving Hunter. “It’ll be okay, alright? We’ll get through this.” She glanced over at Tatum, mouthing the sorry in her direction.

“I j-just wish you had b-been here to say g-goodbye,” her mother sniffed, looking up at her daughter. She was frowning, and Mackenzie was waiting for the bomb to drop. “Jessica was here for me, what took you so long to get here? You both live together don’t you?”