“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.495Please respect copyright.PENANAEjTDmAzZM0
495Please respect copyright.PENANAKMIg506glb
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANAoYHMcVK4Gl
495Please respect copyright.PENANAfzolPaxnh4
Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—495Please respect copyright.PENANA2WVm8kfNy6
495Please respect copyright.PENANAEQqTImDQ6d
“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.495Please respect copyright.PENANA6vhAidz3dN
495Please respect copyright.PENANAXiUDohG7RL
She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”495Please respect copyright.PENANACW6ngSYEim
495Please respect copyright.PENANAGxiHhgOXsH
He turns around and looks at her directly now. She’s aware of how all eight of the other dancers are watching them.495Please respect copyright.PENANAmkBiAzgFzd
495Please respect copyright.PENANAdzL112RcCL
“Stitches?” he repeats, saying it like it’s a dirty word. “What happened between last night and now that you had to get stitches?”495Please respect copyright.PENANAyg9njgPRkD
495Please respect copyright.PENANAYmVW9kdFCz
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANAUNoeMQeEGF
495Please respect copyright.PENANApQCHiwBENR
“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.495Please respect copyright.PENANACSteR157wh
495Please respect copyright.PENANA4JjqINl2oF
“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”495Please respect copyright.PENANAppaZqE6Rbb
495Please respect copyright.PENANAnSocLmA9Gh
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANAUmQ40WkPNI
495Please respect copyright.PENANAGp0pOYGJv7
“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.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAVGfp9pVRL3
495Please respect copyright.PENANAC0vSdDGMMs
Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.495Please respect copyright.PENANAjZmbzxdaC7
495Please respect copyright.PENANAdAa8LbpuOY
“I went there after leaving class last night.”495Please respect copyright.PENANADgP02h7tfY
495Please respect copyright.PENANA2Jj3DLwneO
“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.495Please respect copyright.PENANAMUj7X3MLe8
495Please respect copyright.PENANAH7qJ1KVe9Q
“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.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAYGeLFkaUD9
495Please respect copyright.PENANAJJndkxD1VI
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANASSv7J9Cbzr
495Please respect copyright.PENANAe4al8PIsge
“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.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAt2xrbm8ePz
495Please respect copyright.PENANAqLRIxHGn9C
Now his eyebrows shoot up.495Please respect copyright.PENANAoaA9OddXIV
495Please respect copyright.PENANAEXh1Ppxm04
She adds quickly, “It’s fine, though. I was lucky. He went for my stomach, but I managed to block him with my arm.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAbxavfyQNm8
495Please respect copyright.PENANAhAECMIn33b
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAgjv5WfU85z
495Please respect copyright.PENANAasHM8IFlvx
Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.495Please respect copyright.PENANAaMODD0HG9J
495Please respect copyright.PENANARt5zhxtR85
“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?”495Please respect copyright.PENANAw6RTvN0h68
495Please respect copyright.PENANA6yxeA7gO9k
“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.495Please respect copyright.PENANALbqmSNVfEr
495Please respect copyright.PENANAB7TDhXvZGi
“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?495Please respect copyright.PENANABnEcqJOoBd
495Please respect copyright.PENANAzo3yOeebU4
“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?”495Please respect copyright.PENANAUmLiz1cJfw
495Please respect copyright.PENANA86MMJDsC83
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANAHX96MGVzbC
495Please respect copyright.PENANAt46RsvbXbx
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”495Please respect copyright.PENANAxt6uLVvMC2
495Please respect copyright.PENANAOG28tZhLlw
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANA16pSfLJBSy
495Please respect copyright.PENANAcXcYZVz0Ra
“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…”495Please respect copyright.PENANAvs9Re1ECQZ
495Please respect copyright.PENANANJxxoO58wu
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.495Please respect copyright.PENANANsCPspzOzx
495Please respect copyright.PENANAzcIFRvbDZU
Thank you, Connor.495Please respect copyright.PENANAJUX8OqEuFL
arrow_back
Moments
more_vert
-
info_outline Info
-
toc Table of Contents
-
share Share
-
format_color_text Display Settings
-
exposure_plus_1 Recommend
-
Sponsor
-
report_problem Report
-
account_circle Login
Search stories, writers or societies
Continue ReadingClear All
What Others Are ReadingRefresh
X
Never miss what's happening on Penana!
Moments
Author:
TejiReve
ISSUE #5
Wounded: Eve
LIKES 0
READS 491
BOOKMARKS 1
campaign
Request update 0
Sponsor
Login with Facebook
or Sign up/Login to comment or bookmark!
Click to load the next chapter
X
After each update request, the author will receive a notification!
smartphone100 → Request update
X
Sponsor again
Click to login
Login first to show your name as a sponsor.
Thank you for supporting the story! :)
Please Login first.
×
Write down what you like about the story
×
Reading Theme:
Font Size:
Line Spacing:
Paragraph Spacing:
Load the next issue automatically
Reset to default
×
People Who Like This