“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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kEz6QFq2u
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡta5oXY7lj1
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoYmPBdKZq
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjnLxPe4pZ
Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejCDpmqrwl
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrgOgjjhMe
“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYhz5y5bz3
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKvpTRYULg
She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQghSrjLFR4
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT747ptBuEC
He turns around and looks at her directly now. She’s aware of how all eight of the other dancers are watching them.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKYm0jKjR6
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Z2DC7KODK
“Stitches?” he repeats, saying it like it’s a dirty word. “What happened between last night and now that you had to get stitches?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcN2ZOWKon0
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnw6rxfEwi
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu9yKjUasP
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRn1mH2Xm4U
“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJa7oewxR3
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhr1BqUenW5
“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrpwgvNnpx
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUBn5ln5qn
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpNQN2JSip
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZXWEl9EHt
“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.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06IY4dpCbJ
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90U6YnfTMh
Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58DidXcUBa
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiV575h1Xm
“I went there after leaving class last night.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3pn2G6RGN
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5StcOGuKQZ
“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkxoCneRau
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLuVmOoiPs
“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.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzkVF4zNip
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrf2lqX5p6
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgk6RLFQF8
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJDWNGsqkN
“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.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsa6eXtGrg
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVnRB6cBAS
Now his eyebrows shoot up.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3cWJekJYw
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYnnrpzwvZ
She adds quickly, “It’s fine, though. I was lucky. He went for my stomach, but I managed to block him with my arm.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbob5LfxeqA
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRwt6BAb3n
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03SUS10Phd
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCQXewZjnL
Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4x6n0ErY6
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMDYRmDYGb
“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?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmJEhMQDCV
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFV7ZVsmNE
“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnAl3c41DM
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUP8fQngCM7
“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgJ5o8emEV
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wCdHHzRXd
“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?”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73npfAb3Pg
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsReqZwYSC
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqlodho6Da
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJZol3Yfhn
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbx1AS2wQB
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4SHQ8VJXc
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJLRuRBZSj
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vJYIzY1xn
“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…”743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8brYBBw3i
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1fqBwXrJ9
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.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdPZRX9BAc
743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLySvXXUH7
Thank you, Connor.743Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTft6QpCvk
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