“I didn’t get a choice not to join. It was the only world I knew. I knew most people didn’t act that way, but that was for ‘other people’. And I did it because I was told to. That’s what I always did for that group. I liked doing it. It’s not like I ever got scared of it.”

He sat down fully, crossing his legs to provide her a lap. “It was my purpose. It was all I really knew how to do.”