“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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdG8JsrLIW
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJaP3gWycf
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcYN8yR4F6
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ870wkniQIS
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWPEyNR2kH
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0A0s8F7qv
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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?”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZeJVrdKo7
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6HPyenNlR
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbQ5Txi5VV
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZIACLlKZt
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGo8ZBK346h
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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.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccoY4Nlcib
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIZGe8sYpI
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNz2Sr9FaL
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuqMCJCIXD
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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.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDc4j3WeNHj
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjp0ChpL7H2
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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.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYHLaYV9TA
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhgMGQdjhU
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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.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMyeEbHBS3
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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.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKqmTca5ne
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyHMO8Euia
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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?”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVS3RdNJ1uU
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4U7yoVuS4I
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqdb0p1h2K
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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?”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1R2FiQKz1Y
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pfZ5XvKf2
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0KAoMVwDE
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsRfvE947T
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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…”976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7214HjrhlM
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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.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1sAQj5G8s
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Thank you, Connor.976Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK60tiOi6hG
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