“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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzTATCGPMT
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTbf7okLIr
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWscKgZb0lu
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwU8GD4QV9e
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyRJYxkQHb
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhoPQJmiwd
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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?”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeajV3EDyDi
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiX8d4OJRzR
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNOJtDiBIF
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCLRJex4Tf
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSBHSEhEQK
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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.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXxViQ6NkY
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1d6gr8Lgw
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1fqRRnadn
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1KEyNpxUx
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“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.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEEfr2SDly
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeiZXgftz3
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“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.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oFp7fyhXL
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUHtk8SRXa
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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.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKJCWkl85Z
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“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4JrfWL0UZ
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEEIR4LOEo
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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?”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuWJyC4cLv
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxzieBboHj
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotUvdHZavf
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“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?”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvle8CdMgVR
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrTRnU1saj
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDRNC0Aufy
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetZsGJmOSL
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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…”705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGMjSl20rN
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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.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VFxm6h516
705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOr15ucEWkN
Thank you, Connor.705Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0xgk2Ohoa
Penana
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