Who is Julie McDuck?!

Someone Who Understands

(Josh's POV)

The snow crunched underneath my hands as the cold winter wind blew and my teeth chattered. I turned to face my stepfather, who glowered down at me from the porch.

"Don't even think of comin' back here, you little brat! You want to be on your own? Then live on your own!" he sneered before slamming the door shut behind him and locking it.

"No! Wait!" I screamed, running up to the door and banging my fists against it. "Please, let me back in! Please..."

I dropped to my knees. "Please."

I grabbed at my now broken arm and gagged when I looked down at it. It was bent at an unnatural angle, bruised with blood dripping from it. As much as I hated to do it, I snapped the bone back into place, holding back a scream of pain by bitting my bottom beak.

After I wrapped my injured arm in some gauze, I knotted the gauze tightly and got to my feet. I picked up my backpack and turned to face my stepdad's home one last time.

I narrowed my eyes. "Go to heck, Nathan."

And with that, wearing only boots and a long sleeved shirt, I started off to find my little sister.

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I woke up in a cold sweat, panting and with a tight grip around my arm. I looked down at my arm, loosening my grip around it before letting out a sigh of relief. It was bandaged up properly in a cast and still healing, just like it had been after I left the hospital.

Thank goodness it was all a dream, I tried to reason. But that was only me lying to myself.

Because it wasn't just a dream...it had really happened. Nine years ago, yes, but that didn't change the fact that it was something I'd actually experienced.

Nathan had thrown me out and left me for dead.

And here I was, twenty-two years old, a freaking grown man, and I was still dealing with the aftermath of it.

I sat up straight in bed, a shiver going down my spine. Julie...the kids!! Had Nathan gotten them?!

I crept over to my sister's room and creaked the door open slightly. I felt my heartbeat return to normal when I saw Julie and Kylee asleep next to each other, and Jake sound asleep in his crib, sucking on his thumb.

I tried to calm myself down as I tiptoed down the stairs, a blanket over my shoulders. They're okay, everything's fine, I told myself before I collapsed onto the couch. I saw a shadow of someone standing in front of me.

I let my instincts take over and punched the shadowy figure right in the beak. It doubled over, letting out a bunch of quack-filled noises before I felt someone grab my arm from behind.

My eyes adjusted to the dim light and I noticed the figure holding me back had the silhouette of...

"Oh, hi Uncle Scrooge," I mumbled, feeling my face flush red. I turned to see the person rubbing his sore beak. "Sorry 'bout that, Donald."

"It's...okay, Josh," Donald groaned, picking himself up. "Should've known not to sneak up on you like that."

That's when I noticed...there was a third person here with us. A woman with long hair and a...metal leg?! She was dressed like a pilot, and was glaring at me, tapping her good foot all the while.

"Can someone explain to me who this kid is and WHY he attacked my brother?!" the woman whispered angrily.

"Della, this is Julie's older brother, Joshua," Uncle Scrooge replied, using his free hand to gently push me back down onto the couch.