Through his closed door, Alvin, who was huddled on his bed, heard the whole thing. That's when he got scared. What was Leonard going to do this time? Alvin got even more frightened as he heard footsteps come up the stairs. He shut his eyes tight.

"Alvin?" said a soft voice.

Alvin slowly opened his eyes, finding Dave standing in front of him.

"Are you all right?" Dave asked as he took a seat on Alvin's bed.

"I'm scared, Dave" Alvin said in a low voice.

"Listen to me, Alvin. I don't want you to be scared. I want you to be strong like you always are" Dave said gently.

"How am I supposed to be strong when I'm being beaten by a guy I hardly know?" Alvin asked as a tear flowed down his face. "I'm nothing but a coward".

Dave held Alvin close. "Oh Alvin, you're not a coward. It's not easy to be brave when someone is beating you, that's all" he said softly.

More tears left Alvin's eyes.

Dave sighed. "Alvin?" he said in a soft voice.

Alvin looked up at him.

"You look tired. Why don't you to get some more sleep, OK?" Dave said, his voice still soft.

Alvin lied down, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep with his alcoholic uncle in the next room.

Dave pulled the covers up on Alvin and placed a gentle kiss on the child's forehead. "Listen Alvin, I don't care what your uncle says. Don't let him call you something you're not, OK?" he said.

Alvin, eyes getting droopy, mumbled an answer and drifted off to sleep.

Alvin woke up to the sound of rain pounding against the window. It must have been storming outside. Alvin found a piece of paper on the nightstand. It was a note from Dave.

Alvin

Because it's raining, I had to pick up your brothers and the girls. Afterwards, I went to the pharmacy to pick up another refill of your pain medicine.

I'm sorry to say that Miss Miller was not home when I called her house, so I couldn't ask her to watch you while I was gone.

I really hate to leave you with your uncle. Try to stay away from him. If he does any harm to you, please tell me when I get home.

I love you,

Dave

Alvin climbed out of bed and began making his way out of his room. He was about to make his way downstairs, when he noticed the door to the guest room opened. Alvin hesitated. Should he really look inside? He would never forget what happened last time.

Alvin swallowed hard and tiptoed toward the guestroom. He slowly peeked inside, finding about three bottles of beer on the floor.

Oh no, not again Alvin thought.

"What are you doing?" said a voice.

Alvin's eyes got wide. He slowly turned around, finding Leonard standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

"Oh, h-hi Uncle Leonard" Alvin said in a shaky voice.

"Again, what are you doing?" Leonard asked.

"Well, I...I mean...I wasn't..." Alvin couldn't find the right words.

"Alvin, I'm going to ask you one more time; what are you doing?" said Leonard.

Alvin was too scared to answer.

That's when Leonard got mad. He grabbed Alvin and pushed him into the guestroom, where he closed the door and locked it.

Alvin just stood there, frozen with fear.

Leonard approached the frightened boy. He reached for his belt.

Alvin tried to run, but Leonard was too quick.

Alvin was thrown to the floor.

"Take your beating like a man, you little coward" Leonard said angrily.

Alvin tried to get up, but Leonard pressed his foot against Alvin's face, making it impossible to move.

A loud snap was heard and Alvin screamed out in pain.

Leonard lifted his belt and struck Alvin again, harder than the first time.

Alvin screamed out in pain again followed by a sob.

Leonard threw down his belt, grabbed Alvin by the collar of his pajamas, and forced the child to look at him.

Tears ran down Alvin's face.

"You want to cry now?!" Leonard said angrily. He gave Alvin a hard punch in the stomach.

Alvin screamed out in pain again as tears flowed down his face.

Leonard grabbed Alvin by the hair and dragged him across the floor as he left the guestroom.

Leonard then dragged Alvin back to the boys' room, where he threw Alvin to the floor. "That's for telling your father what I did to you last time I was here. And let me tell you something, Alvin; you tell anybody this time and it's going to get even uglier, understand?" he said angrily.

The only answer from Alvin was sobbing.

Leonard entered the room and gave Alvin a hard kick in the back. Alvin screamed out in pain again.

"Do you understand me?!" Leonard said angrily.

"Yes, yes I understand!" Alvin screamed out.

Leonard left the room and slammed the door, leaving Alvin on the floor crying.

Dave returned home with Simon and Theodore. "Alvin, we're home" he called.

Simon and Theodore went to the kitchen and started their homework while Dave went to look for Alvin.

Dave headed upstairs and toward the boys' room. He carefully opened the door, only to find Alvin on the floor, shaking.

"Alvin!" Dave rushed over and helped his son sit up.

Alvin looked at him, his face stained with dry tears. He had a bruise across his face.

"Alvin, speak to me. What happened?" Dave said.

Alvin, breathing hard and shaking, shook his head.

"Alvin, please" Dave said gently.

More tears fell from Alvin's eyes and he threw his arms around his father.

Dave returned the hug, looking concerned. He could feel Alvin's body shivering. He figured that Alvin was too scared to talk about what happened, so for now, Dave tried to calm his son down.

"All right, Alvin. Relax. Whatever happened is over. You're all right" Dave said gently.

Alvin felt secure in Dave's arms and cried himself to sleep after a few minutes.

Dave walked over to Alvin's bed. As carefully as possible, Dave placed Alvin in bed and pulled the covers up. Then placed a gentle kiss on Alvin's forehead. Dave quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

AN: Hey everyone, i just got an idea; if any of you know how to draw, maybe you can draw fan art of this story and 'A Nightmare Reality'. Also, I'd like to thank blossom1209 for being my Beta Reader. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please nothing negative.