"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, KITTY!" Dennis exploded, and his hand flew toward her. A loud whack could be heard throughout the house as his hand collided with Kitty's cheek.

A few moments earlier…

"Don't shout at Sam, he's not to blame!" Kitty said.

"I saw him do it." Dennis growled.

"Well maybe you're blind."

And then he hit her.

Kitty staggered backwards, clutching her cheek, and Rick leapt up to grab her and make sure she kept her balance. Dennis stormed out and Kitty removed her hand from her cheek. Weirdly, it was covered in blood.

"Kitty…is your cheek okay?" Rick asked.

"I…I'll live, I think." Kitty said, shaking all over. "I was just trying to…"

"I know." Rick said, and he hugged her. To Kitty's surprise, she found herself hugging back.

"It'll be okay, I promise." he said softly.

Tyler walked in, took a look at Kitty's cheek, and his face hardened.

"Who did it?" he asked, his breathing harsh.

"Dennis." Kitty whispered.

Tyler turned and stormed out, and Kitty ran out after him.

"Don't, Tyler!" she shouted, but it was too late.

Tyler tackled Dennis from behind, wrapping his arms round Dennis and beginning to kick him and hit him. Dennis threw Tyler off and Rick caught him easily, holding on firmly.

Tyler was going crazy with fury, he was staring at Dennis with menacing eyes and his fists were clenched. When Rick let go, Tyler moved…but only to take Kitty's hand.

"Hurt her again. I DARE you." Tyler growled.

Dennis chuckled evilly. "I'm not scared of a bunch of kids. And kids need to learn…through punishment."

With that, he walked out.

Tyler turned to Kitty but he was surprised when she threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug.

He hugged back and he absently ran his fingers through her hair. "Did he hurt you too much?" he asked as they broke apart.

"No." Kitty said quietly. "No, not too much."

"You okay now, mate?" Rick asked, patting Tyler on the back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tyler said.

"That was really brave, Tyler, thank you." Kitty said.

"Anything for a friend…right? We're all in this together." Tyler said.

The other two nodded in agreement.

Dennis left all the kids alone for 2 days. Then, he found Kitty's sewing.

He stormed into the living room and shoved it into her face. "What is this crap?" he demanded of her.

"It's not crap!" Tyler snapped.

"It's my sewing." Kitty said calmly.

"What was it doing lying around in the kitchen? I tripped over the damn thing!" he shouted in her face.

Miranda had a slight smirk on her face, but Jake and Daniel weren't laughing. Everyone was scared of Dennis.

"I don't know how it got there!" Kitty said, and as Dennis straightened up and threw her sewing to the side, he glared.

"You are an untalented little freak, and I do NOT want to see any more of that arty stuff, EVER again!" he shouted.

Tyler got up. "What did you call her?" his voice was deadly; but Dennis' was worse.

"I called her an UNTALENTED LITTLE FREAK!" he said, shouting the words.

Tyler reacted; he jumped up to hit Dennis and got him square in the face, but not badly. Dennis threw Tyler back and Tyler slammed into the table. Kitty heard his scream of pain and she kicked out at Dennis, her foot connecting with his knee.

His yowl of pain told her that his knee was his weak spot. But nobody anticipated what was coming next.

Dennis picked Kitty up and threw her at the wall, and she slammed hard against it like Tyler had the table. Then, Dennis' fist connected with Kitty's stomach once, before he stormed out.

Clutching her stomach and her head, Kitty half-walked half-stumbled over to Tyler, who was curled up on the floor, on the shattered remains of the table. His head was cracked open and he was bleeding.

"Tyler?" Kitty whispered, and tears sprang to her eyes. He had cuts and bleeding everywhere, and that was all for her.

Kitty let go of her head and her stomach, ignoring the sharp pain that hit her as she did so. She put her arms under Tyler's and attempted to lift him.

Emily walked over with Rick and they both helped Kitty get Tyler on the sofa. Sarah and Amelia brought the first aid kit and Kitty sat on the armrest beside Tyler's head, and she began to clean up the crack on his forehead. It would heal up fine, but she was trying to stop the bleeding.

And as Kitty got glass out of her best friend's arms and t-shirt, she cried silently.