“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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ffm8DkXSB
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fGPSJmm4r
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWPJZpLKPB
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMo746XjED
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33SFnG4o85
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY9nK6I7MN
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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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurvx2cCzMZ
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsaw76NLJHs
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjAOoFX1s7
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcPxwxVLh2
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rdaDIR6Ts
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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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttAHj9H4QM
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VKcanhiZm
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMEQjnvM9L
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnX5ZCaaCR
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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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLTInjYJUa
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CyMWXfBhC
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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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgkMj2hbhY
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaCxbOfzea
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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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLmGfMgnCm
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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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2o5HJXnPGj
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4JHiKmtpH
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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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7Eo4dzsx8
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPbjyClpBZ
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWqQmO26ku
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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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMa1Dx7Wlf
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6VC0qUIWh
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVgD5wuwny
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQnoLkv1Zv
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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…”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6utlqdZZaE
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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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJO0QX8B1dD
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Thank you, Connor.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zMrEFfZXj
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