“Let’s take a five minute break?” Connor says, blessedly giving his dancers a moment to catch their breath after ten straight minutes of his cardio-intensive choreography.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyx5DQNJK0
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Eve pushes up the sleeves of her hoodie and then pulls them down again. She can feel the dampness of sweat under the collar of her shirt, pasting her hair to the back of her neck. A droplet trickles down the bridge of her nose and drips off the tip. Taking a deep breath, Eve accepts that she has to take off the hoodie or risk overheating.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQalSae6yC
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6iIRMbhji
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdZkdZBPpm
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUIaZUd9fB
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He turns around and looks at her directly now. She’s aware of how all eight of the other dancers are watching them.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2ag3ZjFln
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“Stitches?” he repeats, saying it like it’s a dirty word. “What happened between last night and now that you had to get stitches?”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqL9CaSm5dB
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This is exactly what Eve had been hoping to avoid—the reason she considered not coming to class today. She can’t skip, though, when they have a performance coming up so soon.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtWH1w1HFG
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qvdXDsMAT
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUnobsxsN3
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Everyone is still staring. Eve feels the danger in him right now—a compressed spring, a snake ready to strike. She has to fight not to take a step back. She didn’t do anything wrong.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SpBF4H5GD
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“Well, I leave food in the breakroom fridge at work sometimes,” she says, words coming out in a rush. “I don’t want it to spoil in the car. So I stop by work on the way after dance and on my way home.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48T01yOL56
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpLpzXzbXk
Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8NHQ7hAER
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Oui9puo2c
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSX660tWuHK
“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2IWi2dyew
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hvpNsBSrA
“At midnight,” she confirms. She can’t look him in the eyes, so she looks past him to the back of his head in the mirror. “I usually just pop in, grab my food, and pop out. But last night, this man showed up. He used to work there but was fired a few months ago.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeFUmQoHtD
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpropDyDhpb
His expression doesn’t change. In fact, he doesn’t move in the slightest. A quick glance at the clock shows her their five minute break has long since passed.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnFvBarVEk
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDO0xFq5L9o
“He was trying to get into the building,” Eve says. “He tried to make me let him in, but I wouldn’t. So…he got pissed off and stabbed me.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWLnPvctmK
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RTqzugb1B
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She adds quickly, “It’s fine, though. I was lucky. He went for my stomach, but I managed to block him with my arm.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaxMPamQ81
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTR1Je5okQ9
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkQOudIHqq
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlU2usc96f
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“What about those times you made me come into the office with you because you were too scared to go into the building by yourself at night? Where was that fear last night?”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtumOWG8lXB
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5N2u3BBgl
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5TrK4ABHL
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5EGcWHBRH
“I can’t believe you’re so stupid!” Connor bursts, ignoring him. “You really don’t have any common sense! So when I say you shouldn’t rely on me all the time, it means you should go to deserted office buildings by yourself in the middle of the night?”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlQlIsdKSf
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwGj2WfCWi
Eve’s surprised by his vehemence. Actually…no, she isn’t. There’s a reason she tried to hide the bandage and considered not coming to class today.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yjmWeKba7
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGaw5kYNsD
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJND3onT7N
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All the steam seems to evaporate from Connor, then. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before turning back to the mirror. His eyes graze the clock. He claps his hands together once.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf4H5cyJjG
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“Looks like our five minute break turned into a ten minute break. Let’s get back to work. Let’s go from the top—with counts first and then music. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight…”707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93briI2KPy
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZ9w1Uqo42
Eve watches him in the mirror, following his choreography but also observing his expression. He’s settled back into the friendly, but strict dance instructor and choreographer, but she knows him well enough that she can see the concern in his eyes and feel it in the tension of his shoulders.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmOLgoRBDM
707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31W9zIqMkD
Thank you, Connor.707Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FcxL0TJDA
Penana
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