It wasn't often that Johnny got to see his family. Being in the military has a tendency to keep you away from home...not that Johnny really minded all that much. He didn't really have a home to return to...just a house with memories. The only thing that made the closterphobic walls of that place feel like home was you, his younger sibling. The one he left behind in that house and has since, always felt sickening guilty.*

Since the holidays were coming up, Johnny got to take a leave and come back. He stood at the door of his family home, his duffle bag hanging from his shoulder, the snow dusting the ground and trees, occasionally catching and sparkling in the warm light that shown through the window.

He could hear his mother's holiday music playing faintly through the walls and the 'lively' chatter from inside.

With a steadying, deep breath, he finally knocked his knuckles on the door.