“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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICiA4VPbPj
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0kJ9ejP6i
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLtlzdvaYN
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8nCAYzudS
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HJxxnoWln
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp3j3GWSdj
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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?”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTdzS1sbMX
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilft8B6dJE
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyZ0xqH4bQ
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qfpQFCZ5t
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOOxys18Om
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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.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2KcbLslzV
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXlLQjKn3D
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKzAgvsf4M
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rpuFjKQmZ
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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.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc59MuMujc
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvxB9vHELL
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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.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r5BOBi0Du
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMsMNWydMJ
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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.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuD5wMYb68v
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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.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv6Qmne79V
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGoYQ3inyL
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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?”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3H5lT2Ix1U
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RO9EHs7ya
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GyVuYkrMw
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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?”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33jyXakOA6
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvOb9qbKYq
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93HWaeJsI9
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ0dcKIW58
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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…”744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55D218Ggsk
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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.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1l0lcGL8y
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Thank you, Connor.744Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwb5DP43Bq
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