“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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGe4v9pbzFy
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjxbi10ed5
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2PZiZjJCQ
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWkiOeagXG
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6XsBKcBq3
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEH3PYWShK
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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?”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixBZipT12T
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqn4k6GhPff
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNvrLTGzYq
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjMTlaB7SM
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kOtj6pCqz
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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.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8rFUUoxQg
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYvKVirjUW
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8MAZQhsbA
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasUSAjbB2T
729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzrt1DMA27
“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.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OtYei0neL
729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxa8lwZ7aZ
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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEH1HiRwNy6
729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUs916QNPeS
“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.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLzIFBc5YD
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtJOkbGRTA
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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.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Mxv7B0OXA
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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.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyScAsjOz7
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleI2xt1oUx
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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?”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7FhbaMMFX
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eNkCtXOJa
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAyl1Y1k2Y
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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?”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7LqpEM4AR
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws7tM81O2p
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZJTPPyAoA
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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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3WSMsKWcX
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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…”729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLdOujqT8i
729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEB6DllRwl
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.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3QOA1KCQi
729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7RWClMbwV
Thank you, Connor.729Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tO116ZA6M
Penana
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