“Can I ask you something personal about Tom?”
Jamie nodded, but the weight of it sat heavy in his chest.
Now, lying in Spencer’s bed with a stuffed puppy tucked under his arm and Spencer beside him, the lie felt like a splinter under his skin.
Spencer shifted, turning toward him. “You said you were going to the Find a Daddy Christmas mixer,” he whispered. “But why would you go with Tom? It’s a mixer to meet a new daddy.”
Jamie froze. His heart thudded. He could feel Spencer watching him, waiting. Not judging—just curious. But Jamie knew he’d been caught. He’d lied. Again. Not because he wanted to, but because the truth felt too raw, too pathetic. When Spencer had asked about the Christmas party earlier, Jamie had said he was going. Like it was part of the plan. Like he and Tom had come up here for that reason.
But they hadn’t. Tom had promised him a quiet week in Big Bear and a party to meet his friends. Just the two of them. Snow, a cabin, maybe a fire if Tom could figure out how to light one. Jamie had imagined cocoa and cuddling and waking up to froston the windows. He’d believed it. Believed Daddy Tom meant it. Maybe he knew about the party, wanted to find a new boy. Wasn’t there a better way to break up?
Jamie swallowed hard. “We weren’t,” he mumbled. “Going to that party, I mean. He said, he’d take me to a party to meet his friends.”
Spencer said nothing, just let him talk.
“Daddy Tom told me he rented a cabin for the week. Said it’d be our first real Christmas together. No distractions. Just us.” Jamie’s voice cracked a little, but he kept going. “I didn’t even know there was a party until you mentioned it.”
Spencer’s brow furrowed. “Why’d you say you were going?”
Jamie sighed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “I didn’t want you to think I was some idiot who got dumped in the snow. I thought if I said I was here for the party, it’d sound less… sad.”
Spencer was quiet for a minute. Then he reached out, brushing Jamie’s arm with the back of his hand. “You’re not an idiot.”
Jamie’s throat constricted as he blinked, trying to hold back tears. “I just didn’t want to look like a loser.”
“You don’t,” Spencer said. “You look like someone who trusted the wrong person. That’s not the same thing.”
Jamie turned his head, meeting Spencer’s eyes. There was no pity there. Just warmth. Understanding. “I’m sorry I lied about being jumped too.”
Spencer nodded. “I’m glad you felt safe to tell me.”
Something loosened in Jamie’s chest. He hadn’t forgotten Daddy Tom. Not even close. But being here, being seen—really seen—by someone like Spencer? It made the ache a little easier to carry.
“Do you have your phone with you?”
He nodded. “It’s dead. I left it in the bathroom.”
“I’ll charge it for you.” Jamie watched him leave. The man was like no one he had ever known. He wondered if Daddy Tom had called and left a message. At this point, he never wanted to feel this kind of pain again. He wouldn’t go back to him. The thought of being on his own terrified him, and he’d love it if Spencer would give him a chance. If he didn’t find a new daddy, he might not make it. Since there was no way Jamie could sleep, his thoughts circled. Spencer had promised to get his things from Daddy Tom. But how?
Since Spencer had charged his phone, Jamie hadn’t checked it. Part of him hadn’t wanted to. The other part had been clinging to the tiniest hope that maybe Daddy Tom had realized what he’d done. Maybe there was a message. A missed call. Something.
After a while, Jamie slipped out from under the covers, careful not to wake Spencer. He padded across the wooden floor and ducked into the bathroom. He shut the door quietly, sat on the edge of the tub, and unlocked the screen to his phone.
Nothing.
No texts. No missed calls. No voicemail. Just the same empty inbox staring back at him like it had been waiting to break his heart all over again.
Jamie’s chest tightened. He blinked hard, but the tears came anyway. Slow, hot, bitter. He’d been dumped—left in a parking lot like he was nothing, and Tom hadn’t even bothered to check if he was okay. Not a single word. Not even a lie to soften the blow.
He curled forward, elbows on his knees, phone dangling from his fingers. How could he do this? After everything. After the promises. After the way Jamie had looked at him like he was home.
It wasn’t just the silence. It was what the silence meant. That Daddy Tom hadn’t just left—he’d erased him. Like Jamie had never mattered.
Jamie pressed the heel of his hand to his chest, trying to breathe through the ache. Spencer had been kind, gentle, and steady. But this pain wasn’t something kindness could fix. It was the kind that settled deep, the kind that made him question his worth.
He sat there for a long time, letting the quiet of the cabin hold him while the storm inside raged. Eventually, he wiped his face, stood up, and slipped back into bed beside Spencer. He didn’t say a word. Just curled close, needing the warmth, needing something to remind him he hadn’t disappeared.
Spencer stirred slightly, draping his arm over him in sleep. Jamie closed his eyes and tried to believe that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as alone as Daddy Tom had made him feel.
