Time was money, especially with the women Mack tried to wine and dine. It was no different than Tatum just flushing an ounce of weed down the toilet or something. She had never seen Mack this caught up about a girl. She didn't approve of the blonde's love-em-and-leave-em approach, but at least that was routine. Mack's emotional side was much more unsettling, and harder to shrug off. The fact that she was the girl made it even more absurd, even harder to ignore.

Harder to ignore how warm the other girl's body was, how soft her hair was, her nimble fingers still tickling her back, or how she smelled like cigarettes covered up with a fine spritz of Old Spice. Tatum was always telling her that she smelled exactly like her grandpa, and the thought made her smile slowly again. "It's not stupid though," Tatum added eventually, wanting to make it clear. She didn't think anything that Mack said was stupid really, unless it truly was stupid. But when her friend was baring her soul to her like that, she didn't find it the slightest bit stupid. Mostly just heartbreaking.

Tatum still wasn't entirely sure she was ready to hear what Frankie had said, but she braced herself anyway, letting Mack tell her side of the story and explain everything. She felt bad for waiting so long before sitting down to listen to it. She had just been in such a blind rage, and then when she and Frankie fought about it, her panic had been unleashed and she was powerless to do anything but overreact. What she had done had been stupid, and although Mackenzie seemed determined to take the blame, Tatum didn't buy it. If she had just stayed away from the two of them, neither of the two girls would be upset right now.

She felt the hold tighten, and she frowned a little. "You're not pathetic," she corrected her quickly, not a moment hesitation on that one. She scooted away from Mackenzie and broke their embrace, just so she could pull back and look at the blonde seriously. Her heart was in her throat, but she tried to speak with confidence and reassure her. She had to be the strong one. "I used to think that same shit.. ironically. I thought like-- I thought one day, you'd just give up. Or Hunter would like, jump out of a classroom with a camera and you'd just.. laugh at me or something. I don't know what you see in hanging out with me.. like, besides the comic books and when I burn episodes of Glee for you," she replied, an embarrassed little smile crossing her face. "You're not pathetic, but I am and I thought like.. you'd be so sick of me by now. I never thought you'd wanna stick with me.. especially after everything, like I was like, your charity case. That's what people think, I think but.. haters gunna hate, right?"

The younger girl lifted a hand, letting it rest across Mackenzie's cheek briefly, giving it a gentle pinch. "She shouldn't have.. said any of that. I think she's like-- jealous? I don't think she knows what it's like to be jealous, she just.. it's like she's shutting down on me," the redhead whispered, trying to explain. She trailed off as well, unsure if she wanted to go on. Would Mack want to hear about them? Would Frankie kill her for talking about her to Mack? Hell, that was beyond the point. If Frankie knew she was in here snuggling up with the blonde, as much as it was between friends for her, she knew the brunette would go off. She'd probably hex her into next month, all parle français.

"She said she doesn't know if she loves me enough to put up with this," she admitted finally, needing to get it out. She hadn't told anyone, just held it up instead, burning away at her. The words had been like a slap across the face, and she knew that had been the only reason she had reacted so horribly, but she still felt terrible. Her girlfriend didn't know if she loved her, and she had offered to give up her best friend to try to fix it. What kind of person was she?