Maybe he should have stayed in his room. Maybe staying put would have been better, but then, how was he supposed to know what awaited him beyond the safety of the closed door? He didn’t have any specific destination in mind. Perhaps he was going to see his mother, hoping to sit next to her, for she comforted him and she felt like home, and Chris still wanted to be at home.
The hall was dim but still lit with a spot of light. He walked a short distance, intending to turn off into a room when Lois’ voice interrupted him. Normally, Chris wasn’t a kid who intentionally stood on the other side of the wall to listen in on his parents’ conversations. They needed their privacy and he respected that, but there were some things that were going to draw in a kid’s attention and keep it chained there. Bizarro was one of them.
He was rigid and completely still and he didn’t need to use advanced methods of hearing in order to catch what was being said. All he needed to do was slow down his breathing and let it all flow his way. If it turned out to be nothing, he would gladly go back to doing whatever it was he was doing, and forget about it. On the other hand, if it was something, another option could be chosen. Something else entirely.