“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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00KcXwnKB2
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZSyKEbbde
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLkTJzEcAk
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmfV5OgCpJ
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHvN3qKos1
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2i3qckpWx
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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?”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0ngk9SWN9
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtb0ORTAOB
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCenTmUt3K
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucj0Z3XODM
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPp1Ax7NTY
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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.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOVZyhmkCG
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0I1wz4RWx
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6W8ylTIf6H
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rc0l81GCB
757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAe1ZwnBxe
“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.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnuQJuPOMW
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfDjUPa9F3
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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.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGg4yINGpDm
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsMexeLI0E
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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.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7ryH1Ov8J
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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.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ7gnu6KOp
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvJHOY1Z0m
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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?”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAJwGb6aGg
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvO4LCVCfFM
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTjRJ9JjCJ
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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?”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyjsXsz4Nb
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP1JEhGEBM
757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZ224Lyau0
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPxXiJGO4Z
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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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7uOAuPePB
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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…”757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbz9ZrOKMS
757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH98ivEDldL
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.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YWYeGLiNv
757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCeC7gXJV3
Thank you, Connor.757Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwdrQ0nF4W
Penana
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