Samantha enjoyed riding with Joseph in his father's automobile until she saw him check the rearview mirror for any sign of someone following them. Then the word popped into her head: fugitives. She and Joseph had become fugitives. "Isn't your father going to be mad when he finds out you took his car?" she asked.
"No, I do it all the time," Joseph said. He smiled at her, causing her to blush. "There's nothing to worry about."
"Oh, all right," Samantha said. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't stop thinking they were on the run from something. Just like when she showed up at the Seafarer Bed and Breakfast before losing her memory. "Did we do anything wrong?"
"No, how could you think that? Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you."
He started to pull over towards the snow-covered shoulder of the road. "Maybe we should go home right now so you can hang around with those friends of yours."
"No!" She didn't want to go back to Prudence and Wendell. She didn't want to face them after what she'd learned about herself, the kind of person she had been. She wanted to spare them from that. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get in trouble is all."
"There's nothing to worry about. I'm going to take good care of you. Sit back and enjoy the ride. We'll be there soon." She thought about asking him where they were going, but she didn't want to upset him any further. Wherever they went would be better than Mr. Pryde's house or Eternity.
They passed within sight of Seabrooke, but avoided driving through the town. Instead, Joseph took them down the highway, away from the sea. Trees gradually replaced the water and shoreline and before long Samantha leaned back in her seat, Seabrooke and her past far behind. Joseph turned on the radio to a song with an up-tempo beat that matched Samantha's mood.
"I like this song. What's it called?"
"I'm not sure. It's from the '60s or something. Older than my dad even. Do you guys have music where you're from?"
"We sing a few hymns," she said.
"I don't know how you could stand to live in a place like that. What do you do for fun?"
"We have plenty of fun. We-" She broke off, trying to think of the last time she did anything fun. Not since she was a little girl playing tag with Prudence and some of the other girls could she remember doing anything purely fun. "There's really not a lot of time for fun."
"That sucks. Don't worry, though, we're going to have plenty of fun now. I promise." She didn't say anything. Until now she hadn't realized how these last four years had crept by without her doing anything for herself. Her entire life had become about looking after the other children to make sure they could survive. Meanwhile this dark past of hers lurked in the shadows. How long would she have lasted before it reared its ugly head and she wound up hurting those she loved? "Is something wrong? You're crying. Do you want to go back?"