“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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQijTBN2lB
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyTYy0fXID
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sZnCb4Q4W
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VKoAx7RnS
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDKXdKu5sK
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPD7CNkCqi
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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?”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QtirTCX9Y
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLNFfReyy9
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuacvs370N
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOePCvjlNvh
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMGHPQwzV1
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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.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBlpaOhcGx
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDU01e6ZOK
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfgyri8Uj2
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DVlQNU6vl
695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlDnCCV7iI
“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.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdjLfbdBDQ
695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTe03l03dHE
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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡik9V8GBPx2
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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.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeYSU2oVtG
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMD3Yy0DUBd
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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.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkkQQJLpF7
695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTRlHYX5hc
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1AAnubJq3
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxRqBEZshT
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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?”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqCGK57MN4
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1iyMTNdmQ
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCY8L7EzXf
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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?”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfa3yAcwil
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEvmItCMZg
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTbeIc0nEQ
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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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqSVTHaXVc
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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…”695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2omv4ImVQA
695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPVALgStzg
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.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZYFmvPJIP
695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlBDWUiPpb
Thank you, Connor.695Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaLQmBqAMT
Penana
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