Bed bug infestations are profoundly stressful. Anxiety and sleep deprivation can cause a phantom crawling sensation known as formication. People become hyper-aware of every hair follicle and dust mote on their skin, leading them to believe bugs are constantly on them. They often are not.
They emerge from these hiding spots only once every 5-10 days (or weekly, in many cases) to feed. They are summoned by two things: the we exhale and the body heat we radiate. They crawl onto exposed skin, feed for a few minutes, and then immediately waddle back to their hiding spot. They do not live on you; they merely visit you like a fast-food drive-through.
By trying to escape them, Elias had inadvertently spread the infestation to his living room.
While the general rule stands that bed bugs do not stay on your body, there is a caveat. In (sometimes called "overwhelming" or "end-stage" infestations), the harborages become so overcrowded that juvenile bugs (nymphs) may be forced to seek alternative shelter. In these rare, horrific scenarios, you might find bed bugs:
That night, terrified of being bitten again, Elias decided to "quarantine" himself. He slept on the living room couch, thinking that if the bugs were in his bedroom, he would be safe in the living room. He wrapped himself in a fresh blanket, confident he had outsmarted them.