Relatively short and filler-ish :/ the next part shall be longer!
So, the other day I accidentally let it slip to my girlfriend that I had an FF account. So now she knows all of the horrible, geeky things that go through my mind. I'M SO EMBARRASSED I CAN'T TAKE ITTTT. But I'll deal lol.
glitchy'me: oh ho ho...I like that idea...:3 lol
I Never Knew You: I'M SORRY! I SWEAR THAT THE BULLIES WILL HAVE THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM BEFORE THIS STORY IS DONE!
GlitchAwesomeness: I swear he doesss! Why does no one trust me?! XD
DancinGamer: thank you~! :D
SoKuGirl0615: nooo! no crying! D: *hugs tightly*
The police gathered what information they could from witnesses and Glitch about the car that had hit Mr. Seung. Only a few of the license plate numbers and what the car looked like were shared, but they promised Glitch that it would be enough to catch whoever had hit his grandfather.
But then it got worse. The policewoman who had been talking to him saw the beginnings of bruises on his arms. With Glitch's reluctant consent, they took him to a separate room and examined his body.
When they asked him who was hurting him, he answered truthfully. He told them everything in gruesome detail, sharing every single beating he'd ever received since he was a toddler. They wrote everything down and took names, taking pictures of his body.
Afterwards, they asked him if there was anyone who could come pick him up. Someone to look after him until his grandmother came. Glitch dazedly murmured Mo's cell phone number, and the policewoman excused herself to call him, leaving the teenager to sit by himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a redheaded whispering to her brown-haired friend. They were staring at him, but they had sympathy in their gazes. Other people were also staring, making his skin crawl and itch uncomfortably. Glitch felt pain well up in his throat and he angled his head away so he didn't have to see them, swallowing hard.
"Hey."
His eyes snapped up to see that the redhead in her late twenties was now sitting next to him. Tattoos covered her arms and throat, and she wore a white tank top with cargo pants. High-heeled boots came up to her calves, and her ears were pierced multiple times.
"You ok?" she asked, her brown eyes wide and earnest.
"I'm fine," Glitch spat out with venom. He immediately felt guilty—it wasn't her fault that he was so angry. "U-um—" he started to apologize, but she held up her hand to stop him.
"No need to apologize," she said smoothly. "I just wanted ta help ya if I could. I heard some of the coppers over there gossipin' 'bout what happened." Glitch felt moisture start to gather in his eyes at the mention of his grandfather.
"Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger," the redhead pointed out, sliding an arm around his shoulders.
Glitch was silent for a moment, before he finally looked up at her helplessly. "They're not going to help," he said, referring to the police.
"With the assholes who're beatin' you up?" she asked.
Glitch shook his head. "With my parents," he clarified in a whisper. "They'll just call their lawyers and get out of this with a slap on the wrist. It's happened before, and I ended up loosing so much blood I nearly died." He shook under her arm, and she squeezed his shoulders.
"Then go live with someone else," she offered. "Like another family member, or a friend."
"My parents won't let me leave," he murmured. "They think it would look bad and ruin their reputation, and the gods forbid that to happen."
"Run away?" she offered.
"No where to go," he murmured.
"I'm sure your friends would hide ya," she said surely.
"No they wouldn't. They'd feel too bad when my parents pretend to cry for me to come home on the news." She was silent now, at a loss.
"Well, shit," she sighed. "I suppose me killing them wouldn't really help?" He chuckled dryly in response, head lolling loosely against his chest. She rubbed his arm sympathetically.
"You're free to go," a policeman told the girl when he came up, jerking his head at the front door.
The girl moved away, rummaging around in her purse. She pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, scribbling something down. She stuffed it into Glitch's hand.
"That's my number," she said. "Call me if you need someone to talk to, or just need to get away from everything for a few hours." She hugged him tightly, and Glitch smelled the heavy scent of gasoline and oil.
"Um," he blurted out when she stood up to leave. "Y-you didn't tell me your name." The redhead raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him.
"It's only polite to tell me yours first," she ordered, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.
"Glitch," he said, looking up at her.
"Interesting name," she mused. She then grinned, revealing dimples on her cheeks. "I like it. I'm Rocket, Glitch."
She grabbed his arm and gave it one last squeeze before strutting out of the police department. On the way out, she pretended to take a punch at a policeman, making him flinch violently. Rocket's laughter faded as she walked out the front door, blowing him a kiss as she went.
Glitch sat there quietly for a while after that, staring down at the numbers on the paper. He slowly slid it into one of his many pockets, leaning back against the chair. He stayed like that, staring at a random point on the wall until Mo came rushing in.
Mo did everything that was necessary to take Glitch home with him, answering the questions about the dancer's home and school life. He told them as fast as he could, antsy to get Glitch next to him so he could hug him.
After what seemed like hours, the policewoman finally brought Glitch over to Mo. The dancer looked up at his mentor, his expression tired and heartbroken.
"Hi," Mo whispered, uncertain of what to do.
"Hi," Glitch choked out back, wrapping his arms around Mo's middle.
The older man hugged him tightly back, running his hands up and down his back soothingly. He waited until Glitch let go before leading him out to the waiting car. After he was buckled into the passenger seat, Mo smoothly pulled out of the parking lot and rushed home.
Mo's apartment was plain, with a sparsely yet nicely furnished living room that was connected to the kitchen. A hallway split off from the main room, leading to Mo's bedroom, a guest bedroom and a bathroom.
Glitch numbly allowed himself to be pushed onto the fluffy couch, looking around the room.
"You want something to drink? Eat?" Mo asked as he kicked off his shoes, flitting around the kitchen. Glitch didn't respond. "I'll make hot chocolate," he muttered decisively, knowing his friend had a sweet tooth.
Mo made two cups of it before going back to the couch, where Glitch hadn't moved an inch. He sat down close, handing one of the warm cups to Glitch. He stared at it blankly before taking a small sip. He took another taste before he sniffed, breathe hitching as he gulped down air greedily.
"I-I can't br-breathe…"
Mo hurriedly grabbed Glitch's cup before he could drop it and put it down on the table. He wrapped him in a hug, gently rocking him back and forth.
"It's my fault," Glitch gasped, pushing away from Mo. "He was crossing the street to catch me. If I had just come home on time, or if I'd stayed a couple more seconds—"
"Glitch—" Mo tried to break in, refusing to let Glitch go.
"—it should've been me—"
"Glitch!" Mo said in dismay. He forced Glitch to look him straight in the eyes. "It was not your fault. How're you s'posed to know dat some idiot would be goin' thirty miles over the speed limit an' run a stoplight?"
"Still!" he yelled, voice hoarse. "It was 'cause I was running away that he got hit!" He cried harder, the sound heart wrenching and broken.
"Please, Glitch," Mo begged, tears welling up. "It ain't your fault. Please, please believe that. What's gramma gonna say if she hears you sayin' that when she comes?"
Glitch didn't respond, hugging Mo tighter while he cried. He knew that his mentor was right, but he couldn't find it in himself to fully accept it yet. He let himself be held as he cried his eyes out for hours.
Eventually Glitch calmed his crying down to sniffling and hitched breathing. Mo didn't let go, rocking the teenager back and forth and stroking his hair as if he were a small child.
Glitch's breathing slowed down, and his eyelids were weighed down with exhaustion. He relaxed the death grip he had on Mo's shirt, and leaned against him as he finally succumbed to sleep.
Mo waited for a few moments before he eased Glitch's arms off of him. He guided the sleeping teenager into a laying position, giving him a pillow to cling on to. Grabbing the blanket on the arm of the couch, he carefully placed it over him and went into the kitchen, taking out his cellphone.
Miss Aubrey answered on the second ring, sounding frazzled and on edge. "Is everything okay?" she asked quickly.
"He's not physically hurt, if that's what you mean," Mo responded tiredly, sitting down at the table.
Miss Aubrey groaned in worry as Emilia cut into the conversation. "Tell us what happened."
Mo summed up everything he'd been told at the police station, leaving out the unnecessary details and explaining how heartbroken Glitch was. He had to stop a few times for the dancers on the other end to calm down, their angry and horrified questions and yells hard to talk over.
"He's asleep right now," Mo said, looking over at the snoring form on the couch. "It wouldn't be a good idea to come over now."
"Me an' Bodie have work," Emilia groaned.
Lil'T had a show choir competition until the evening, so it was decided that she would come with Emilia and Bodie and then everyone else would come sometime during the day. They didn't want to overwhelm Glitch by showing up all at once.
"Call us if anything happens," Taye told Mo as they neared the end of their conversation.
"Give him our condolences," Angel broke in.
"I will," Mo assured them.
He hung up and went back to sitting in the kitchen, watching over Glitch as he rested.
Okay, so I can't decide: Glitch is going to have his older cousin stay with him for a bit. Should this cousin be a boy or a girl? Review and tell me what you think~ x3