Mo wasn't sure what it was, but Glitch's father hated him.
Why?
Mo didn't know.
Glitch had said it was because his father found dancing "too womanly" and that Glitch needed to "be a man" about things.
He needed to step out of that phase, stop being so sensitive, everything along those lines.
Mo's heart ached for the boy, because they both knew whatever they tried wouldn't work, and Mo couldn't stop this sort of thing from happening to Glitch.
But one night, things went way too far.
Glitch had sat there and took the verbal abuse from his father- he took it and he took it and he took it.
But that night he decided to stand up for himself.
"You won't go anywhere with dancing," His father spat at him.
"Yes I will!" Glitch hissed, glaring at his shocked father.
He wasn't used to Glitch fighting back, but there was only so much that a person could take before they cracked.
"Dancing is my life, and why you don't support me is beyond me. I hate you! All you do is belittle me for doing what I love and you… why can't you accept that?! I'm leaving!"
Glitch turned on a dime to storm up to his room.
He was set on packing his things and running down the street to Mo's house, where he went every time his father yelled at him.
Mo was his comfort.
Mo was always there.
Without dancing, there would be no Mo and without Mo there would be no dancing.
Glitch thanked him internally for that every day for Mo teaching him to do something he loved- thanked him for helping him find his true passion.
Glitch was almost out of the kitchen when he felt a strong hand grab his wrist and yank him back a little, then spun him around only to meet a slap to the face.
"Don't you ever disrespect me like that!" His father roared.
In a split second, Glitch's eyes were pricked with tears.
He knew it was coming.
He knew this would be bad.
He wondered if he could make it down the road to Mo's after this.
But it was too late for anything.
Too late for hopes.
Too late for escaping.
Too late.
It was just too late.
Glitch's father grabbed him by the front of his shirt and beat him down right in the kitchen.
Glitch's cries and screams were fading into the night, and once his father had gotten all his anger out on Glitch he left him in the kitchen floor in a pool of his own blood.
Out of shame and anger, his father left the house- probably to go to the bar.
That seemed to be his only comfort.
But here Glitch sat in the kitchen floor.
Blood was splattering against the ground, starting to make a puddle from his cut lip.
He was most likely going to have a black eye, and there was a huge cut on his right shoulder from where he caught the countertop from his father shoving him.
He had a cut on the bride of his nose, in the corner of his forehead, above his eyebrow, and a deep gash on his collarbone and chest.
Glitch had tears streaming down his face while small hiccups escaped him.
Glitch scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket, which took more effort than it should have.
He dialed Mo's number quickly and put the phone on speaker, letting it rest on the floor while he continued to cry.
His father was gone, and if Mo came, it would be a miracle.
It was a Friday night, and Glitch didn't expect him to be free or even answer the phone.
But he did.
"Hey G," Mo said into the phone, smiling on the other line.
Glitch couldn't speak, so the only thing Mo heard was him sobbing and hiccupping from the sea of tears.
"I'll be there in one minute." Mo told him, hanging up and grabbing his car keys.
Glitch left his phone in the floor, continuing to cry.
Mo drove down the road to Glitch's house, because their homes were on opposing ends of the same street.
Right when he got to Glitch's, he flung the front door open which his father had ever-so-carelessly left unlocked.
He found Glitch in the floor, and he dropped to his knees and scooped the bawling boy into his arms, shushing him and desperately trying to wipe away his tears.
Mo stood up with the boy in his arms, looking at the blood that covered the floor and Glitch's clothes and skin while he cried into Mo's shoulder.
He brought Glitch outside, setting him in the passenger seat and quickly jumping in the driver's seat.
He sped down the short stretch of road, and when they got into his home they whipped into the driveway.
Although it was a short car ride, the only thing that was audible were Glitch's whimpers and sobs.
It broke Mo's heart.
He never wanted to see his partner like this…so hurt, so broken.
Right when the car came to a stop; Mo jumped out of the car, grabbed Glitch, kicked the car door closed, kicked the front door to his house open, and closing the door.
He ran up the stairs with the boy clutching at his jacket while tears continued to fall, bringing him into his room.
He set the small boy on his bed as gently as possible, then grabbed the first aid kit from the hall closet, returning him in less than a minute and shutting the door directly behind him again.
Mo took a seat on the bed, sitting criss-cross applesauce.
He scooted a bit closer to Glitch and put the boy in his lap, seeing where his shirt was wrinkled.
So that's how his father grabbed him.
Mo slid the younger boy's shirt over his head, considering the one he was wearing was splattered in his own blood.
Glitch rested his hands on Mo's shoulders to keep him balanced, and Mo put an arm around his waist to hold him up.
He used the other arm to open the first aid kit, grabbing cloths and some steri-strips and gauze.
Mo used some cloths with a bit of alcohol on them to wipe down the cuts, taking the blood off and disinfecting the cuts.
Glitch winced, and Mo rubbed his lower back, only to feel Glitch relax.
Mo used some steri-strips to close the deep wounds, putting cloths and taping it down with medical tape on some patches of cuts, and wrapping a huge wound on his shoulder with gauze.
Mo wrapped it until it was nice and tight, taping it down and setting Glitch back on the bed.
"You're staying here tonight, G."
Glitch nodded, smiling weakly and timidly, wiping away some stray tears.
Mo slid his own jacket off and put it on the bed, then looked at Glitch one last time.
His heart hurt for this boy- he just wanted to do what he loved and his father hated him for it.
Mo leaned in, kissing the boy on his forehead and letting out a deep sigh.
Mo kissed every part of him that was injured- the things that were covered or the things that were uncovered.
Bruised, nicked, or cut deep- Mo kissed it.
Glitch leaned into his kisses, his eyes fluttering closed and the waterworks finally starting to dry up.
"Everything that will get better soon. I promise." Mo told him, holding Glitch's hand before bringing him in for a hug.
He let the boy rest, sliding his jacket onto Glitch and giving him a small smile, accompanied by a quick kiss.
A kiss that was short, but actions spoke louder than words to him.
And Glitch finally had hope for the future.