“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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiT4yQbVLY
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyalwwoeUG
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvD2tcH4Ts
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡku74ZcPPqn
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjiZ3lDL1g
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UvanDLQyl
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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?”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3VnjnE6iZ
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQrLw5OoKy
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlnkmLnyRn
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fImsx9TN2
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfjfIxL7RX
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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.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrFtOiPSBM
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvOr5EFjpU
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDC9HCe8xH
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsPSCJZuyN
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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.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexQMqksiKW
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDYqCbTRss
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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.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9dp32Zf7J
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLk2RgKmiYd
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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.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgP2GlhKD1
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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.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXN5tU7pel
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFNjDGdPI7
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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?”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTZktwd4q2
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnZpOWvFRl
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpj8wFDzQO
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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?”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttjxD4Nkn9
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡym9aSMttuC
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4atpBLXp8d
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxggAIabhK
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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…”728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWdmJaR59p
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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.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTygDji248b
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Thank you, Connor.728Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLclc99boTB
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