Page 36 of Glacier

Jen blinked at me, clearly caught off guard.

“I know you think they’re helping,” I continued, gesturing towards the other two, “but every time they step in for you, it tells everyone else you can’t handle things on your own.”

Jen swallowed, and her shoulders straightened slightly.

“You’re stronger than you think,” I told her. “But no one’s ever going to see that if you keep hiding behind them.”

Behind her, Janis and Tru exchanged a glance, the tension between them shifting.

“Let her speak up for herself,” I said, looking between the two of them. “Otherwise, you’re just making it worse.”

Jen’s lower lip trembled. “I don’t know how.”

“You need to believe in yourself, honey,” I said softly. “I’m going to give you some hard truths, and you’re not going to like them. The reason you get treated like you're worthless is because you act like you are.” I took a deep breath. “Are you worthless, Jen?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not.”

“That's right, Jen. You're not,” I said, lowering into a crouch in front of her and taking her hands. “You're a lovely person, and you have a lot of people who love you and want to protect you. Only a good person has that.”

I squeezed her hands gently. “But, honey, your sisters, North and Carnage won’t always be there to protect you. And they would, right to their dying breath, because that’s the kind of people they are.”

I paused, meeting her eyes. “But you? You’re stronger than anyone I know. You saw what you wanted, and you went after it. All you have to do now is believe in yourself. And tell people to go fuck themselves when they try to make you feel small. Do you know how I know that works?”

Jen shook her head, looking uncertain.

I smiled. “Because that’s exactly what I did when people called me a whore.”

“Who the fuck called you a whore?” Glacier growled.

I looked around, surprised to see everyone listening to my conversation with Jen.

“Small-minded busybodies in my town,” I responded.

I looked at Jen again. “I had my son at fifteen, and I bloodied lots of noses before they stopped calling me a whore. Honestly, it was very therapeutic. You should try it.”

Standing up, my eyes locked onto Glacier’s. “You all may as well hear it now. If I’m going to be part of your club, you all should know my history.”

I told them everything: about the rape, discovering I was pregnant, and deciding to keep Fin; how hard it was to be a teenage mom in a small town; and how my family rallied around me.

The only information I held back was what my dad and brother did to my rapist and what we did for the Kings. Not everyone needed to know.

I ignored the angry rumbling from the men and the sniffled tears from the women. My attention never wavered from Glacier. Not until I was finished. He looked angry, but I knew it was for me, not at me. I knew we’d be having a conversation about what I'd revealed, but not right now.

Turning back to Jen, I cupped her cheek and swiped away a tear. “So you see, honey, you need to hold your head up high. Be proud of all you’ve accomplished because you’re worth it.”

Jen stood and wrapped her arms around me, her tears hot on my shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered, pulling away slightly. “I’ll do better. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“Yes, you will. And what happened to me is water under the bridge. I got a fantastic son out of something horrific.” Leaning back, I gripped her shoulders. “You have an amazing network that will help you, men who love you, and friends who have faith in you. You’ll do just fine.”

She pulled back her shoulders, standing straight. “Yes, I will.”

“Damn right,” Janis agreed with a nod. “Starting with some self-defence training on Monday morning.”

My eyes caught hers, and I nodded. She was changing the subject, redirecting the attention away from me.

Tru picked up where she left off. “Hell, yeah.” She whirled around and looked at Carnage. “Do you think Maverick would let us build an assault course at the clubhouse?”

“Jesus Christ.” Carnage rolled his eyes as if annoyed, but he gave me a chin tilt as he tugged Jen under his arm. “Probably, if you ask him nicely and explain why.”