It was three days later at just past midnight when they took off. Sam clutched Aunt Louisa's urn under her arm, and Freddie held the front door open for her as she tiptoed out of her house. Quietly, he eased the door shut in the frame and followed her to the street.
Sam took off running towards her car, which was parallel-parked on the street just in front of the house. Taking a swift look around, she pulled open the driver's side door and slipped inside. Freddie rolled his eyes. Sam was pretending like they were two prisoners on the run from trigger-happy police. In reality, they were two teenagers walking out of an unlocked and alarm-free house guarded by one woman fast asleep on sleeping pills. He sat down on the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt.
After she shifted it into gear, Sam's car screeched out of its parking space, and Freddie's body was plastered to the seat back as the car zoomed forward way over the speed limit. "Woah, Sam, slow down! Our journey's gonna come to an end soon if you run over too many children at eighty miles per hour."
"Don't be silly, Benson. No children are out at 12:13 AM." However, she did ease off the gas pedal, slowing down to a more comfortable forty-five miles per hour, although she was still speeding a bit in the residential area.
For the next ten minutes while Sam directed her car towards the highway, Freddie went over lists in his head. Things he'd packed. Things that could possibly go wrong. Ways his mother could react to finding his bed empty. And last but not least, amazing places that they could see, adventures they could experience, and things that could go right.
Soon, they were on the highway, which was quiet and nearly empty in the dark, starless night. Sam glanced over at Freddie and said, "Look in the glove compartment. Put in a CD."
Freddie obliged. He fished through the niche, finding a wide variety of candy, snack items, napkins (some already smeared with barbeque sauce and meat juice), and finally, a large variety of music. Most of them were mix CDs burned off the computer and shoved in a hand-labeled paper sleeve. At random, he chose one titled "Songs About Driving." Popping the disk in the player, he was greeted with the sounds of the Beatles' "Drive My Car."
"So, where are we headed first?" asked Freddie.
"I was thinking California, but when I plugged Seattle to Los Angeles in MapQuest, it said that was over eighteen hours of driving straight. That's way too long to sit in a confined space with you."
Freddie rolled his eyes, although he knew Sam couldn't see through the darkness. "You're the one who begged me to come along in the first place."
"Did not!" snapped Sam, her voice growing sharp. "Anyway, you're the one who showed up."
"That's because I help my friends through tough times, and I saw how hurt you were when you told me about your aunt."
Sam wrinkled her nose. "I'm fine, Frednerd."
"Come on, Sam. We're obviously going to spending a very long time together. At the very least, can we stop with the stupid nicknames? Just call me Freddie."
"Like that's gonna happen," scoffed Sam, edging on the gas pedal as she sped along the straight expanse of road. Freddie sighed and hoped no police officers were hanging around the highway.
"So, if not LA, where are we going?" Freddie asked a few minutes later.
"It's called Cannon Beach, in Oregon. It's only about four hours away, right on the border. I don't know, it just looked pretty in Google Images. I thought it seemed like a place Aunt Louisa would like. You brought a swimsuit, right?"
Freddie nodded.
"Good. So, we can go swimming for a bit in the morning, and put some of the ashes in the Pacific."
"After that, we should probably sleep," said Freddie, stifling a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I can't go that long without at least a nap."
"We'll find a motel," she replied.
"Wait... a motel?"
"How much money did you bring, Benson? What did you expect? A Hilton every night?" She changed lanes. "Who knows, we could be spending a few nights in the car."
"But motels are so... dirty. Not to mention sketchy."
"They're also cheap. Most of the cash has to go towards food anyways. Eating out is going to be expensive."
Freddie frowned. Sam was being uncharacteristically responsible and thoughtful. Well, she did make food the first priority so he supposed that she couldn't be that different.
After about ten minutes, the effects of the slow songs on the stereo, the dark surroundings, and the rhythm of the car's movements lulled Freddie into sleep. His head pressed against the car window and soft snores escaped his mouth.
Sam sighed, hoping that he wouldn't leave too many smears on the window. She hated cleaning up after people, including herself. MapQuest estimated that the drive to Cannon Beach would take about four hours, leaving about three hours to go. Luckily, Sam wasn't tired. She'd slept until past noon yesterday and had indulged in two coffees that evening.
When Sam had left, she didn't leave a note, not a hint of explanation. It wasn't that she didn't think her mother would worry or care. She would, at least a little bit. Then, most likely, her mother would get over it, forget about it.
Sam hadn't entirely figured out why she'd wanted to run away in the first place. She'd thought it was only about her aunt and scattering her ashes, but she was beginning to think there was a little more to it. Was it the rebellion? The excitement? Was her mother the reason? Did it have something to do with Freddie? No, she eliminated the last question. He was just there, a passenger, not the reason.
After about three more hours of driving, four more loops of the CD, and plenty of quiet snoring from the passenger seat, they were within view of Cannon Beach. It was characterized by the huge rock located on the beach, called Haystack Rock, which was over two hundred feet tall.
Sam checked the clock. It was nearly four in the morning, and she could see a bit of light seeping up over the horizon. Reaching over, she flicked Freddie in the arm to wake him.
"Ow!" he cried, jerking suddenly as his eyes flew open. He rubbed his shoulder, glared at her, and sat up straight in his seat. "What was that for?"
"We're almost there," replied Sam. "I'm gonna find some place to park."
Freddie groaned loudly. "It's four in the morning. Why did I agree to this?" He closed his eyes and stretched out his arms, nearly hitting Sam in the face. She batted his hand out of her face and turned left down a narrow street.
Cannon Beach was a very small town with less than two thousand people. Absolutely no one appeared to be awake, and not a single light shone through the windows of the compact lines of houses and storefronts. Sam turned down a small road that led behind a restaurant where she ultimately parked.
When the engine cut, Freddie pushed open the car door and stretched out his legs. There was a crick in his neck from the uncomfortable sleeping position against the car window, so he attempted to roll it out. Sam gave a cat-like yawn where her mouth seemed to overtake her face.
Then she popped the trunk and retrieved Aunt Louisa's urn. She also grabbed a mid-size red bag. "My swimsuit," she said. "There's a gas station down the street. We can probably change in the bathroom."
Freddie nodded and took out his own clothes bag.
"It's the most beautiful beach I've ever been to," Freddie admitted. The sun was just rising behind them, casting rainbows over the water. There was a light breeze rolling in from the ocean, bringing in cool air and a soft mist of sea water. Sam was wrapped in her green beach towel, looking slightly cold. She'd placed the urn between the two of them, and Freddie couldn't help but find it a bit odd. At least no one else was at the beach yet.
While the quiet still remained, Freddie laid down on the sand and allowed himself to relax, though he was unable to fall fully asleep. At the same time, the sun was picking up speed as it rose in the sky, bringing with it warmth and light. He sighed and opened his eyes. "My mom will be noticing I'm gone by now."
Sam checked her iPod screen, which she had been fiddling with while he rested. "It's barely six."
"Yeah. She'll definitely know I'm gone." He felt vaguely guilty then. He'd left a brief note, if only to prove he wasn't kidnapped. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference anyway because she would still worry. The note had said: Don't worry, Mom. I'm okay, just out for a little trip. I'll be back. Thinking back, the note hadn't made much sense. What did 'a little trip' even mean? He tried to push his mother out of his mind, so he could attempt to have some fun.
At this point, Sam had left his towel on the beach and was making her way to the ocean. She jumped a little bit when she touched her foot to the water. It was obviously still quite cold. Freddie joined her. He too was struck by the temperature but still followed her in deeper. Early morning was not prime time for swimming.
"Okay, let's both dunk at the same time," Sam said, quivering a little in the waist-deep water. "We'll get used to it faster."
Freddie nodded. "5, 4, 3, 2..." he said, leaving off the one as usual.
With a deep gulp of air, he sank underwater. The cold, salty water enveloped him and stung at his squeezed shut eyes. A few seconds later, he popped his head back out of the water, still freezing. Sam's teeth chattered, and her blond hair stuck to her neck.
Despite the rather frigid water, they both managed to have fun. After about ten minutes of coldness, they acclimated to the temperature. They swam a bit, though the salt hurt their eyes and tasted terrible. They splashed each other, buried their feet in sand, and made somewhat pitiful looking sand castles that the waves carried away.
After about an hour, Sam left the water and walked back to her Aunt's urn. Freddie followed behind. "Ready?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'll just put a little in the sea." She was quiet now, not her usual self. He understood and sat on the sand, giving her a little privacy as she scattered a pinch of ashes into the water.
Sam returned a few minutes later, the urn clutched in her hands and her eyes slightly red. Freddie decided not to mention it. "Would she have liked it here?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "She loved the ocean and swimming." Glancing around her surroundings, she added, "It's just beautiful here. I wish we could have gone some time."
Freddie waited as she wrapped herself in her towel and started rubbing her wet hair. "So, about that motel?"
She nodded. "I saw one down the road."
The motel's owner, called Robert from his name-tag, raised his eyebrows when we entered. He was middle-aged with black hair and glasses, which he peered at the two teens over. Freddie supposed he had good reason to look a little apprehensive. After all, they were dressed in their swimsuits and towels, and they were still dripping water a bit. Not to mention, it was about eight in the morning, not the usual time to rent a room.
"Um, could we have a room?" asked Freddie, taking his wallet out of his bag. He checked the prices. They were quite cheap, which he predicted would be fitting when they saw the quality of the room.
Robert sighed and studied them, probably making some snap judgments. "I'm not going to mention that you're supposed to be over eighteen, that you're supposed to rent after four in the afternoon, or that you're supposed to be wearing a shirt. Hand over the cash."
Freddie was surprised. This didn't seem like a typical, completely legal establishment. Whatever, he was exhausted in spite of his naps. He passed over a few bills to Robert and received his key to Room 5.
Robert pointed down the left hall, directing them towards their room. Freddie turned the key and opened the door, revealing a remarkably awful looking room. The dirt-colored carpet was probably chosen so only the minimum amount of cleaning had to be done. The two twin beds were covered in an extremely itchy looking red blanket with two sad, flat pillows. Spider webs lined the ceiling fan. That wasn't even getting into the bathroom.
However, Sam and Freddie were exhausted. As soon as they laid down on their beds, they were asleep.
Sorry for the delay. I had this written for a while, but I didn't really like it so I didn't upload it. I finally got around to editing today.
I've never been to Cannon Beach, but it seems like a really lovely place. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave a review if you want. Thanks for reading!