“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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcQxL3Q58B
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2BNzrdTJG
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3P1ygAOSzp
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocL4YMVbS3
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWWvCuqmRl
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5rgK3ZRv1
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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?”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTDyWbG8Lo
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdH0fdbOpt
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIW1SncqXmw
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwO1D6E0zDf
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjfpPwkMnL
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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.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeCTfm8w6M
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsYpHZiyRY
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sOFDXFG37
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NIU3tUTKU
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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.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzTgspku1K
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkErh7jKUO
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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.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqRcnG7IMq
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ISlSE5NV3
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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.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKKcExoiJj
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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.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhwASDqT4e
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsVEU3bZQu
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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?”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkT8vFaf92
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4NP7hyi4i
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVpnyp7WLo
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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?”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99hcb7lEwE
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaTQ6XEJJt
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzWygjmbCW
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMwuowVdA5
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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…”1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5Wv3YF5Sn
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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.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1onl1UpcH8
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Thank you, Connor.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLc28DRa6o
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