“You can. But you’ll hear when they get back. The front door is very slammy.”
We walked out of the warm and cosy kitchen into the hallway of the big house, where it was chilly and draughty and dark. I flicked the light-switch, but nothing happened.
“The bulb’s gone,” the boy said. “That always happens.”
Our eyes adjusted to the shadows. The moon was almost full, and blue-white moonlight shone in through the high windows on the staircase, down into the hall. “We’ll be all right,” I said.
“Yes,” said the boy, soberly. “I am very glad you’re here.” He seemed less precocious now. His hand found mine, and he held on to my fingers comfortably, trustingly, as if he’d known me all his life. I felt responsible and adult. I did not know if the feeling I had for his sister, who was my girlfriend, was love, not yet, but I liked that the child treated me as one of the family. I felt like his big brother, and I stood taller, and if there was something unsettling about the empty house I would not have admitted it for worlds.
How does paragraph 24 contribute to the story?
A. It criticizes the narrator's inability to understand why the boy needs a bedtime story.
B. It highlights how the narrator views his relationship with his girlfriend and her brother.
C. It asks questions about how the narrator is related to the boy he is spending time with.
D. It reveals the narrator's feelings about having to tell bedtime stories to his girlfriend's brother.