Adam kept his voice level when he said , “ No , his mother and I have already gone to the police . They ’ re barely helping . They call him a runaway .” He thought the word would stick in his throat but it didn ’ t . That first night they knew he was gone , when that dark heat in his stomach had settled , he felt something else surface that had made him grow white with shame . That something else was something like relief .
Adam sighed . “ Please , Matt . His mother and I …” He didn ’ t know how to finish .
Matt chewed on the inside of his cheek , thinking . Some part of him must have been struggling with his loyalty to Denny and that made Adam feel like grabbing onto Matt ’ s shoulders and shaking the boy . Tell me the truth ! he wanted to shout .
He remembered the polar bears and their black dark noses . “ Whoa , Dad ,” Denny had said . When Denny was a little kid , he read on the back of a cereal box that if a human were to eat the liver of polar bear , they would die because humans were not meant for all that Vitamin A . His tongue had grazed the pink flesh in the spot where his front tooth used to be . He had held out the box , pointing at it with his spoon . “ Check this out .” Whoa , Dad .
Adam could feel Matt weakening . “ Is he still in Cherry Hill ?” he prodded and the boy shook his head . “ Is he still in New Jersey ?”
As the silence deepened , so did Adam ’ s heart in his chest . Finally , Matt said , “ I don ’ t really know for sure . But there ’ s this house . It ’ s empty , kinda falling down . Some people go there just to hang out or when they need a place to crash or whatnot .”
Adam didn ’ t want to know what “ whatnot ” meant . “ Where is it ?” Matt said , “ Philly .” Adam said , “ Philly .”
The last time they had all gone to Philly together was the year before , and it was because Hannah wanted to check out the science museum for her birthday . Denny had sulked the whole time , arms crossed , one-word
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