Bedtime...

Casper who looked indifferent to Jean's reluctance to leave, turned away and crossed his arms over his chest.

This was the moment Jean wanted to ask him the question about where he was supposed to sleep. But due to Casper's demeanor, Jean immediately dismissed the idea. He understood that Casper wasn't ready to answer any question at the moment as the latter was currently putting on a carefree expression.

Upon this sudden realization, Jean decided to follow Casper's advice and left for the room.

Deep down, he was wary of offending Casper because he needed him the most during this dire moment. So, he had preemptively decided to go straight and lay on the floor. Although this act of his could be considered weird, he still considered it appropriate if he was to avoid crossing paths with his only current saviour.

Entering the bedroom with a stagger, Jean made a couple of steps forward before stopping. He then scanned the room with a haggard expression. He was dead tired. All he wanted right now was sleep, but where he was going to lie was what made him reluctant to head straight to sleep.

In a few moments, he felt conflicted. On one hand, he wanted a good rest. But that could only be achieved by lying on the bed. While on the other hand, he felt like by lying in the tiny bed, he might offend Casper and this was the last thing he could wish for.

Left with no other choice, Jean gazed at the time bed with a grim expression before lowering his gaze and looked at the foreboding floor. After staring at it for some minutes, he let out a frustrated sigh and then walked closer to the bed.

When he was about to lower himself to the floor, he heard someone entering the room. Knowing that it was Casper, he didn't even bother to spare him a glance and continued with was he was doing.

The moment he sat on the floor and was about to lie down, Casper resounded.

"What are you trying to do?"

With a stiff smile, Jean reluctantly tilted his head to the side and raise his gaze to face Casper who was currently standing by the doorway.

After lingering for a moment, Jean scoffed.

"Trying to sleep I guess."

The moment Casper heard Jean's reply, his eyes twitched as his expression turned serious.

"Don't tell me you were going to lay on the floor with your current condition..."

With that, tense silence settled in the room. A few moments later, Casper decided to break the silence.

"I understand, it must have been my fault for not telling you where you should sleep...."

Casper said as he eyed Jean with pitiful eyes. A moment later, he shifted his gaze towards the bed and continued;

"The bed... it'stoo small. Isn't it?"

In response, Jean nodded his head.

"And how do you think I was able to reside in this small containment with my family?"

Casper asked with a calm expression.

This fact had escaped Jean's mind. But after Casper mentioned it, Jean immediately started pondering on the matter.

'How did that escape my mind? He had told me earlier that he had a family. So, that only means they were staying together before...'

With a serious expression, Jean's gaze locked on Casper.

On his face a "Can you tell me more about that" expression evident.

Understanding Jean's concerns, Casper decided to explain.

"I must be joking to say that the bed was big enough to contain me with my family."

Massaging his temples, Casper continued...

"The truth of the matter is that, I only resided in this house with the former owner only. This was after I had lost my other family members while in the city. Just to let you know, the former owner was my dad."

When Jean heard this, his eyes widened.

"So, what you are trying to tell me is that you used to share this bed with your dad?"

Jean asked out of curiosity.

"Let's forget about this... Just get to the bed and sleep."

Casper said in a friendly tone.

A little bit embarrassed, Jean blinked severally.

"What about you? Where are you going to sleep?"

Jean asked out of confusion.

"Just listen to my advice and do what I have told you. After all, it is for your own good."

Understanding Casper's stance of not willing to answer his question, Jean propped himself off the ground. The moment he got to his feet, he winced and limped on his left foot. This because, the pain he was feeling on his left foot had somewhat increased.

In the next moment, the duo exchanged glances before Casper lowered his gaze and stared at Jean's injured foot.

"It must be hurting, but the best thing is that the bleeding was stemmed."

Shifting his gaze towards Jean, Casper hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"I would advise you not to cover the wound while sleeping as you might injure yourself in the process."

Casper advised.

In response Jean nodded his head.

Ten minutes later, Jean was lying in bed and Casper had already left the room.

Gazing at the ceiling with a distant look. Jean found it hard to catch sleep despite the tiredness that had descended upon his whole being.

'How is mom?'

Just at that moment, Jean realised that he was missing something important.

'The cellphone... I must have dropped it when I collapsed. But I think I can borrow Casper his so that I can get in contact with mom. What if he happens to be one of them and he is only acting good in order for him to win my trust? But my intuition is telling me otherwise. And never for once has my intuition ever misguided me. Perhaps this is the first time. But still, I really need him. I should also remain vigilant despite the comfort I am getting around him.'

Jean contemplated for a while as he struggled to catch sleep.

Despite him not sensing any ill intention from Casper's actions, he still chose to remain cautious in case things turn sour out of the blue.

During this moment, only one thing was running through his thoughts.

'How am I going to get back home without running into these kidnappers?'

He found it difficult to think about something else, as he felt the urgency of returning to his home. What made him this worried was the fact that his mom could as well be in danger the same way he was.

First of all, he understood that if his plans were to succeed, he needed to come up with a potent plan.

After a few minutes of brainstorming, Jean finally came up with a suitable strategy.

Firstly, he had to give Casper the necessary cooperation for him to tend to his injuries.

Secondly, when he wakes up in the following day, he should borrow Casper's cellphone so that he could contact his mom and know how she's fairing on. After which he would use that opportunity to ask his mom about Axel's situation.

Lastly, he would have to ask Casper - if he turns out to be as harmless as his intuition was suggesting, to assist him in getting back to his home.

With all the plans set, Jean didn't find any other reason to struggle with sleep and without knowing, he fell into the embrace of sleep.

***

In the leaving room, Casper sat in one of the wooden chairs while crossing his feet. In his hands, there rested a small book that his eyes were locked on.

With a single glance, someone could easily think that the guy was engrossed in reading the book, but that was not the case. The guy's thoughts were directed somewhere else.

'What could have led to this boy's kidnap? The boy seems too innocent to be subjected to such an ordeal treatment. The injuries he suffered seem too severe, but what's keeping wondering is that the boy looks okay despite the internal injuries he suffered.

Perhaps tomorrow would be the perfect moment to understand him better. I just hope that this act of mine won't land me in the trouble that I have been avoiding all these years.'

With that thought in mind, Casper immediately placed the book in his hands on top of the table, got to his feet and went ahead to lock the entrance door. When he got there, he checked outside for a while. A few moments later, he sighed and locked the door before returning to the leaving room.

The moment he got back in the leaving room, he lowered his gaze and stared at the book on the table with a grim expression.

Finding it hard to continue reading the book, he turned around and headed for the room.

'I am too tired, I need to have enough rest before tomorrow.'

Casper contemplated as he entered the room with a stagger.

The moment he got in the room, he directed his gaze towards the sleeping Jean and stared at him for a few moments. When he was sure that the guy was a sleep, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He then circled his hands in an anticlockwise direction. When he completed the third cycle, he slowly turned around and faced in the direction of the leaving room.

He then quickly opened his eyes before thrusting his hands forward with vitality.

In the next moment, a gust of wind shot forward from his hands through the open room door into the leaving room. In the next second, the lights in the leaving room and those in the room he was currently in, wavered before going off. Suddenly, the whole house was enshrouded in darkness.

°☆▪︎☆▪︎☆°