The walk from the bus station doesn’t take long, or maybe it’s anticipation making the walk seem quicker than it is. Either way, the sight of the familiar trailers up ahead gets my feet moving faster. I got plenty of sleep during the long bus ride, but that didn’t mean I was comfortable. And I could use a shower after all that traveling.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I walk into after unlocking the front door.

Somebody robbed us. Somebody cleaned us out completely because the place is empty. “Mom?” I call out in a shaky voice, almost afraid to move. I can hardly even breathe. “Are you here?” The only answer I get is the echo of my own voice.

I’ve been gone for two weeks. What could possibly have happened in two weeks? I search my memory for any hint of us getting evicted, but everything was going okay as far as I knew. Was this visit planned as a way to keep me out of here while something awful happened? Could Mom have at least warned me before I got here? Or what if it was something even worse than that? What if she had an accident and is in a hospital somewhere? What if she—

The sudden blaring of a car horn outside the trailer makes me jump before I spin around to look out the still-open door. A car much nicer than any I’ve ever seen around here is sitting out there, and a moment later, the door opens, and a familiar head pops out. “You’re earlier than I expected! I was going to meet you at the bus station, but you were already gone.”

“Mom?” I whisper. It’s her, but it’s not her. I mean, she’s driving a Mercedes, for one thing, and she looks great. Like she just had her hair done, and she’s dressed in clothes much nicer than the jeans and T-shirts I’m used to seeing her in.

“What happened?” I blurt out as she gets out of the car. “Where is everything?”

She reaches me and gives me a brief hug, which is still better than what I expected. Mom has never been big on displaying affection. “Why don’t we get in the car, and I’ll tell you about everything along the way?”

“Along the way, where?”

Just like that, her beaming smile slips, and now I’m looking at a woman who reminds me more of my mother. “Honestly, Leni. Why do you have to make everything so difficult? I’m your mother. Do you think I would take you anywhere dangerous?” She laughs like it’s actually funny, like she would never do anything like that. And it’s not that she’s ever hurt me, exactly, but she’s also never gone too far out of her way to protect me.