So I’m not nervous as we walk along.

I’m just rolling the story over in my head, trying to think how best to explain.

“My mother had a friend,” I say. “A boy she knew from the time she was little. Similar to Bo and Duke. They went to elementary school together. Eventually his family moved back to North Carolina, to Cherokee land. But my mother and Waya still kept in touch—he would visit her when his family came back to Silver Run for any reason. Though at the time she got married, she hadn’t seen Waya in almost three years.

“She also had two younger brothers—maybe she told you?”

“One of them was named Abott, and he was big like Grady, right?” I say.

“That’s exactly right. Uncle Abott. The other was Uncle Earl. At the time she got married, they were only thirteen and fifteen years old. But they were both tall, and hardened, if you know what I mean.”

I nod. I’ve never experienced poverty, but I’ve seen boys become men at a young age.

“Before Mom got married, she was still seeing her siblings regularly. Still taking care of them. As soon as she moved into Ellis’s house, he cut her off from them entirely. They weren’t allowed to call or visit. And my mother was barely allowed out of the house at all. Never without Ellis right beside her.

“Of course, they were worried about her. And not just because there was nobody to take care of them anymore. They tried to slip notes to her, when Ellis would bring her into town. And two or three times they tried to visit.

“There were gates all around the property, and cameras. Uncle Abott climbed the wall and managed to speak to her when she was pregnant with me. Right before she was about to give birth, actually.

“She tried to tell him that she was alright, and he needed to leave her alone. But she was wearing a white shirt, and he could see bruises all over her arms, even through the shirt.

“So he left. But he called Waya. He said, ‘Celia needs help. Will you help her?’ And Waya drove in that night, with two of his sisters.

“They waited outside the property all night, till the early morning, with Abott and Earl in the car, too. They were scared, arguing over whether they should go in right away. They were worried that Ellis might be hurting her, if he’d seen Abott on the camera. Which, of course, was exactly what was happening. But they also worried he might do something worse to her if he caught them trying to break in. My mother had told them that he had dozens of guns in the house—one in every room.

“So they waited, staying up all night. Then, in the morning, Ellis didn’t leave for work at the usual time. They debated again what to do. Finally Ellis’s black BMW pulled away, with him sitting in the driver’s seat.