AUTHORS NOTE:

Thank you to all my viewers and those that have already favored and followed my story. It's so overwhelming and I really appreciate it.

Also just a warning with the physical abuse components, I believe they are not over the top but I am trying to validate what happens out there in the real world where kids and animals do suffer at the hands of abuse.

Here is the second chapter. Hope this is a little bit more set out and easier to read.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 2: Braxton beginnings Part 2 –

Brax was now a three year old boy and was moving around well on his feet and speaking some basic words. He was playing with his toys in the living room when Cheryl came in to get him for dinner. Cheryl picked him up.

"No. I don't wanna have dinner. I wanna play!" Brax struggled in his mother's arms.

"Stop that Darryl. It is time for your dinner. If you don't stop I will take away your toys." Brax pouted as Cheryl placed him in his high chair.

Cheryl placed a tray of mashed up food in front of Brax. "Eat that." She told him grumpily as she went to take a sip out of her alcohol bottle. Brax played with his food, he didn't want to eat it, and it looked gross.

"Yuck!" Brax pushed his plate away. "Darryl stop fussing and eat your food." Cheryl ordered.

Danny walked into the room and wrapped his arms around his wife, taking the alcohol bottle from her hands and taking a swig. "How's me woman?"

"Ugh fine, if our son wouldn't be so difficult with his food." Danny looked at Brax who hadn't touched his food. Danny walked towards Brax.

"You think we can afford food for you to waste?" Brax looked at his father confused. "It yuck. Don't wanna eat."

"I told you if you don't eat Darryl, I'll take away your toys." Cheryl spoke. Danny watched as Cheryl approached Brax and took his robot toy from his hand that he was playing with on his highchair. It was his favorite toy since receiving it for his third birthday and he took it everywhere with him.

"No. Mine!" Brax reached out for his toy but was ignored. Danny put his hand on the highchair table.

"Eat your food and you might get it back." Danny turned to approach his wife again. Brax was upset and grabbed his spoon and shoved it into his mashed food, splattering it everywhere then he pushed the plate off the table, making more mess all over the floor and highchair.

"No eat! I want my toy!" Danny and Cheryl turned at the noise and saw the food mess.

"Look at what ya done Darryl!" Cheryl shouted. Danny immediately walked up to his son and grabbed his right hand and holding it out, he gave a sharp smack to his outer wrist. Brax let out a yelp and started to wail.

"You're a bad boy making a mess!" Danny scolded. Brax sat crying in his highchair. Danny and Cheryl groaned at the noise. Danny then walked over to where Cheryl had placed Brax's toy and picked it up. Brax watched as his father took his toy to the garbage bin and dropped it in.

"No!" Brax wailed louder. "Bad boys do not get their toys back." Danny told him. "Now stop ya whinging!"

"Sowrry…Pease" Danny left the kitchen, leaving Cheryl with a very unsettled Brax.

"Right, you won't stop ya whinging and eat then you go to bed." Cheryl carried Brax to his cot and placed him down.

"Pease may I have my row-bot back." "No, you did not eat your food and behave."

"Pwease mum…I sowrry…" Brax continued to wail, but Cheryl ignored him and walked out of the room, shutting the door. Brax continued to scream and cry for hours, hitting his little fists against his cot posts. Cheryl and Danny sat in the living room, trying to ignore their son's screams, but could not take it anymore. Danny stood up.

"I'll shut that kid up." Danny burst open the door, startling Brax, who was now heaving from crying so much. Danny stood over the bed. Glancing up at his father Brax choked out "I want my row-bot."

"Well you can't have it. It's gone!" Brax started to cry again. "I have had it! Quite ya whinging, before I take all your toys away, for good!" Danny went to grab Brax's other favorite toy, his stuffed dog from his last birthday, he slept with in his cot, but Brax latched on.

"Noo…Pwease...Dad..." Brax screamed and lost his grip on the toy, falling down onto his mattress. Danny glared down at his son holding his stuffed toy in his hands waiting for Brax to stop his crying. Brax finally settled his crying, but was still shaking.

"Get to sleep. I don't want to come back in here tonight." Danny threw the toy into the cot towards his son. Brax quickly grasped his stuffed dog toy and cuddled into it tightly, letting out small hiccups as he settled and eventually falling asleep.

By the time Brax had turned four, Danny and Cheryl would drink two bottles of alcohol a week each. Cheryl relied on her government payments for being a 'stay at home mum' to afford her share, but it was much harder with Danny as he was going from job to job. He had lost his job at the local petrol station that he had worked at for five years, due to his unreliability to turn up to work sober or at all. He was finding it difficult staying in a job and so the bills and food supplies suffered. With money tighter than ever and their alcohol spending on a budget, Danny and Cheryl became more agitated and took out their frustrations on poor four year old innocent Brax. It wasn't until this time that Brax would find out first-hand the damage his father could do when he was angry. It was the real beginning of Brax's struggle for life and the situations that would change everything.

Brax kept bugging his parents to take him to the park to play, he was bored. "Mum, Dad, can we please go to the park today?"

"No Darryl, your mother and I are busy, go and play with your cars." "Well can I play outside then?" "No." Cheryl added.

Brax slumped, his parents never wanted to take him outside anymore, he wanted to get out and have some fun. When Cheryl and Danny walked into the kitchen to refresh their drinks, Brax took the opportunity to open the front door and ran two houses down to a friend's house who he meet the other week. They both shared the same interest in toys and had lots of fun together. After playing for half an hour, Brax was happy as could be, but it was short lived. He had left the front door open and as soon as his parents finally emerged from the kitchen and realized he had gone, Danny stormed out of the house, and down to the neighbor's house where surely he saw his son playing with another boy, he was furious.

"Darryl!" Brax looked up to see his father charging towards him.

Towering over him he yelled, "How dare you disobey your mother and I, when you were told you could not go outside!"

"Dad I only wanted to play with my friend, I was bored at home." "I don't care what you wanted to do. You do as you're told!" Danny pulled Brax up by the back of his shirt "We're going home."

Once Danny dragged Brax inside, Cheryl approached. "What makes you think you can just wander around when you please?" Brax looked up at both his parent's, he had never seen them this angry.

"I'm sorry I won't do it again." "You're damn right you won't! You are never going to that kid's house again!"

"But dad he's my friend" Brax pleaded, almost in tears. Danny stood over Brax, before Brax felt a sharp sting over his cheek, where Danny slapped him across the face. Brax fell backwards and crumbled on the floor in shock.

"We Braxton's don't have friends. An' if I ever see you hanging around that kid again or leaving this house, I'll belt ya. Understand?" Brax looked up from his place on the floor, tears streaming down his face.

"Yes Dad." "It's your own fault Darryl." Cheryl added. "Stop sniveling and go to your room." Danny ordered.

Brax stood up from the floor and ran to his room. Burying his head in his pillow he continued to cry. From that day onwards, the hitting became harder and more frequent. Brax could never understand why he made his parents so mad for them to hurt him, but quickly learned that he needed to stay strong to survive.