“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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwCXbNKLqr
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxchkIZcwO
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuErPRRDks
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykXTENta30
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjqlM0hsjs
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ350cPTDR2a
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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?”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GqhWYBaFU
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxxYxPwv2t
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vvY6wxd8l
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kXazKcKRg
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuJ6FvFweO
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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.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrqDMfZn8N
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIXbZHn2WY
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnpVa6DMVm
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBVLZJ8XQu
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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.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6aW4KtKpf
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHboUAZsNP
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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.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGRUUg5oBA
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXEyru5Wvm
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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.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7hmMKeXA7
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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.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQExa0r1yAp
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4y1tPjfEIa
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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?”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RUWcOY8w9
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMXxqku5rM
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvcq6qrkpM
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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?”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOIzxcCUJ9
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoITM9CnTH
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLeIrPnMJx
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulM05kDAip
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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…”759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhzJjDPXG3
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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.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoHaV2qufp
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Thank you, Connor.759Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfYwJr0kxQ
Penana
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