Upstairs, Rain found Pip playing alone in one of the girls’ bedroom’s crawlspace. He poked his head inside the dark room. “Everything all right?” he asked Pip, who was reading a book with the help of a flashlight. “How long have you been in here?”
“Dunno.”
“He didn’t wanna play nothing,” Candid said behind Rain.
“Yeah,” Constance echoed.
“You mean, he didn’t want to play anything,” Rachel corrected her. “Look at this mess. You all need to clean up. It’s late and there’s school tomorrow.”
“Come on, Pip,” Rain said, against the sound of the girls whining behind him, “let’s go home.” He stuck his hands under Pip’s arms and pulled him out. Pip didn’t argue or protest. He even allowed Rain to take the book from him. “Go collect your figurines. How many did you bring?”
Pip walked out of th
