“Prestige buildings?” I asked instead.

I knew that a lot of rich people showcased their wealth through architectural buildings, but in such a small place? This wasn't New York...

“You see that building there?” Mum pointed to the dark-glazed skyscraper over which the next storm front hovered ominously. “That's the DLSC. The DeLoughrey Science Center. But since they are now by far the richest family in town, they still bought up the bank building and many of the shops, and that was probably just the beginning...”

From her mouth, it sounded as if that didn't bode well. Even worse, as if these rich people were insatiable...and as if she...knew these people.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know these Loughreys personally?”

Or whatever they were called...

For a brief moment, Mum looked a little spaced out. Then she shook her head quickly.

“No, not exactly. But it's been a very long time since I've had any contact with anyone here except my doctor. I’m sure the town has changed and the people with it. And I hope you'll like it here somehow, after all.”

Smiling, she stroked my smooth hair.

I didn't hope I would like it, but I hoped she would get better. We had been through a rough time, and it wasn't over yet. All I wanted was for it all to finally stop. And if I had to, I would get along with this town…in the short term, not for too long.

Mum drove further into the inner town.

“Just in case it ever becomes important, which I hope it won't...” Mum pointed at the neat facades of the houses around us. “That's the town hall there, the mayor's office.” I caught a glimpse of the Victorian stone mansion, the noblest building down here, adorned with a golden tower clock. “That is the police station. A college friend of mine works there.”

A more modern building was next to the town hall, with Blairville Police Station written in gold lettering. And I really hoped I would never have to go there. The chances were low now that I was so far away from Larissa.

A blue and red font immediately jumped into my field of vision, right next to the police station, like vultures over a well-guarded bird's nest. Blairville Daily. That had to be the news station. Of course, three reporters were standing in front of it, interviewing some police officers who had probably just gone to enjoy their lunch break.

I looked across the road, past the traffic island with the statue of a man, probably from the eighteenth century. A raven had perched on its head and was pecking at the brass cylinder.

“Who's that?”

Mum followed my gaze.

“That's the merchant who discovered the island around 1790. Cornelius Copeland, an Englishman.”

Again, the name Copeland. Either the name was common here by now, as it was in small towns, or an important family had that name.

I looked past the sailor's statue and spotted another large Victorian stone building, the only one with a restored facade to compete with the town hall.

“What is that building for?”

“The law firm of the...” Mum paused, and her worried look made an uneasy feeling rise inside me. “DeLoughreys.”

DeLoughrey. Them, again. I didn't know what was more absurd: that the DeLoughreys owned so much real estate in town or that this town had a goddamn law firm.

“Do you want me to give you a ride to the house first, or do you want to come grocery shopping?”

“House?” It escaped me, and I looked at Mum, who was leaving the neat and lively center of town again, circling the brass statue of the old sailor to follow the other cars.

Mum had mentioned living with friends when she used to be at university, but I would have thought more of a flat or a residential wing on campus rather than a whole house.

It really surprised me that she still owned a home here somewhere. After all these years...

“It was kind of a student residence at the time. But I bought it up later because the former owner knew me well and offered it to me for a good price.”

Why didn't I know about this? She could have mentioned that she owned a whole property in Canada...

As for financial means, I wasn't surprised. My mother had studied molecular biology, which is why she earned a lot of money in Sacramento. But I was beginning to wonder how she would get money here. As far as I knew, it was quite difficult to look for jobs in the field of molecular biology outside of big cities and to secure a good income in addition. This small town would kill her wealth... Plus, the fact that Mum was a researcher.

“Sure, you own a house here. Just like that. Why am I not surprised?”

Grinning sarcastically, I looked at her. She returned it unconcerned.

“So, are you coming with me to the grocery store?”

To be honest, I wasn't particularly comfortable waiting for Mum alone in an abandoned house. Who knew what was going on in the neighborhood? Maybe there were students living there who threw wild parties, got high on marijuana, and actually rode around the neighborhood on motorbikes and accidentally swept children off the asphalt.

The thought made me smirk. Soon, I would be one of them, but I would stay away from such things.

I was looking forward to student life itself. A few weeks ago, I wanted to study in San Francisco with my best friend, Larissa. Unfortunately, I had made this plan without my mother's doctor, and since I would not be of legal age for another week, Mum had decided over my head that I should come along. Mum was glued to me. That was the only explanation that made sense. And I was aware of how unhealthy this behavior was.

The problem was that it would have complicated everything even more if I had moved away, so Mum had enrolled me at this no-name university. It amazed me that they even offered my degree course here, in the middle of nowhere...

“Hello, earth to Bayla? Are you still there?”

Perplexed, I stared into my mum's face.

Mum rolled her eyes impatiently. I remembered her question.

“Oh, right, I'll come with you.”

We turned into a side street, but it wasn't a street, I realized. It was the driveway to a huge grocery store called Belly Shop. A sprawling car parking area stretched out in front of us, and Mum was having trouble finding a suitable space.

“How is it always so crowded here?!”

Annoyed, she joined a queue of cars waiting for a red Mini Cooper to pull out of a parking space.

“Why don't we go shopping somewhere else?” I suggested, but Mum shook her head.

“You'll laugh. This is the only decent mall around here for miles. The nearest is in Bradiston, twenty miles from here.”

“Like there's only one shop here. What about the little shops?”

“They're just boutiques, stationery shops, herb shops – nothing I'd need at the moment. There's always a weekly market open down at the harbor on Wednesdays, and there's a baker there too. But there's everything here that's on my shopping list.”

Of course, the shopping list. My mother and groceries… She always had her detailed list, and woe betide if something wasn't found in the shop. That's why it always took us what felt like years to get out of a shop. If something wasn't there, she was always in a bad mood. How could we stand it here for half a year?