Chapter 24
Jade looks even younger in real life than in the picture Vivian showed me. She hugs me like I’m a long-lost friend. Her energy is relaxed and friendly. Long dreadlocks cascade down her back. She gives Leila the same warm greeting.
“Jax is sleeping over at Shawn’s,” Vivian says, her tone tinged with a touch of nerves.
“Too much female energy for a boy his age,” Jade jokes. There’s almost thirty years between her and Vivian. Although she seems kind and lovely at first sight, it’s hard for me to see this ending well—because I’ve seen this kind of thing between Vivian and a much younger woman go south a few too many times.
“Check this out, Iz,” Vivian escorts me and Leila to the bookshelf in the den. She points at a finely carved wooden sculpture of a naked woman in an exuberant
