“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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSToGWiPPxz
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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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLmsR7z7nr
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHnZD6h2oM
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IcbQqgtrN
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnZ1V1fOcn
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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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79UjVBqWzg
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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?”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65uBw5jmDb
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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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULxHwcWSF8
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSkRnGUZuP
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrjXmYJYfK
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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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcwcUfHBGK
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5qH33xlCg
“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.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL0210rApo
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNlaNzRvQR
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaD6KMwV0O
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfOPaPOPo7
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BgSQpunn2
“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.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBncaz3ODT
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryU4E5JG6J
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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmSCC2jOjz
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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.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJOnDRGigj
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmtQiJBCC3
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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.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3J2tU2gGe
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ832IPtdTH6
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUzuWnXWm1
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQy1S1wj50
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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?”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6b8vrZka89
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjErLBbSMX
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUW7VK3lNX
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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?”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPBE8hMpT7
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlH2NeNlqh
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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tiP6rmy6b
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtFXjm6lh6
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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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVIgLzHuzn
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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…”793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgn8UcP5aZ
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVqW0UPYpm
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.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rEqmk8uNY
793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkRkiWLG8t
Thank you, Connor.793Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9kUCOlEEf
Penana
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