They weren't kids anymore. What seemed like such a big deal back then, they now knew, meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
He had loved her for as long as he could remember, and even if he was never worthy of it. He wanted to love her for the rest of his life.
Jogging up the steps of her porch, he walked up to her door and rung the bell. Kier gurgled and lifted his soft little hand to pat Alex on the chin. The boy had been completely calm, as Alex bundled him up and drove over to India's. It was almost like he knew he was on his way back home. He knew everything his Uncle wrecked was about to be fixed.
Looking down at his nephew, Alex softly rubbed his cheek. Nothing about his family was normal, but it was the family he never knew he needed. He would have both India and Kier.
He could hear the muffled sounds of Christmas music playing through the door. Then the shuffling of feet against the hardwood floor. A blurred image passed in front of the frosted glass window of the wooden door. She could see them. Even if she didn't open the door, neither of them were going anywhere.
The music stopped. He heard the lock click, before she pulled open her door. Standing there in pajama's decorated with Santa clause hats and with red-rimmed eyes, she was still the most beautiful thing he'd seen this morning. Stepping into the door, he slipped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her forward. Kissing her gently before laying his forehead over hers.
"No more running away."
****
One night.
Her resolve lasted one night.
This morning, she woke up feeling like a truck had rolled over her body and then backed up for good measure. Everything hurt.
Justina offered to stay and cook them breakfast, but India wanted to be alone. She wasn't sure there was anything that could comfort her. Nothing felt right, not even the familiar walls of her home. She did not want to ruin her friend's Christmas, by behaving like the crumbled mess she felt like inside.
Sitting alone in front of her fireplace, she'd been trying to muster up the energy to call her parents and put on a happy front for them. She didn't need them worrying about her too.
When she heard her doorbell and found Alex and Kier on her doorstep, she couldn't open the door fast enough. Seeing the two of them standing there, She had no idea how she would make things work, but she needed to. If not for Alex and Kier, then for her own sanity.
Legs weak and heart racing, she gripped the front of Alex's shirt. Her heart was with this man and the child in his arms. Fresh tears filled her eyes as he slipped his hand onto the back of her neck and pulled her forward for a kiss.
Epilogue
“I usually don’t love it when people come seeking me out at my home. Especially on the first day of the year.”
“We wouldn’t ordinarily impose,” India remarked nervously as she and Alex followed the Judge into her home office.
“Yet here the three of you are.”
Cradling his nephew, Alex shrugged. “We recently made a very big decision and wanted to give you an update.”
The Judge arched a well-sculpted brow. “This couldn’t wait for our scheduled conference later this month?”
The pair looked at each other and grinned before turning back to the Judge. “No ma’am.”
“Well, what is it that you want to tell me,” The Judge asked as she circled her desk and took a seat in her thick upholstered wing-backed chair.
India slipped her hand in Alex’s. “We are getting married.”
“You are?”
Alex nodded. “We got the license two days ago.”
“Congratulations, though I do admit, I still don’t know why you couldn’t wait to tell me this?”
“Well, we were talking,” India began, “and you were a part of putting us on this path. So we wanted you to be a part of making our family complete.”
“In what way?”
Alex squeezed her hand as he took a step closer to the Judge’s desk. “We want you to marry us.”
India held out their marriage certificate.
Christmas eve, they had spent most of the day talking. About Kier. His mother. His sister, and their future.
All those years ago, she had accused Alex of running away from his family. But she had run away from him the moment it felt like they were bound for different directions. She had done it again when it felt like she was on a freight train towards heartbreak.
She had lost so much, and India felt like she could not afford to lose anymore. Without realizing it, she had lost her heart to the two boys beside her and there was no getting it back.
No more running away.
They had to rely on and trust each other. They had a future together and it was time they started building it.
“You want me to marry the two of you?”
They nodded and Kier gurgled.
“We want you to be a part of our second chance,” Alex announced as he turned towards India and kissed the top of her head.