“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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7jATfMkLf
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HjeXnqTOu
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Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgSu7nnHyK
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“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wkX7tRANH
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She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CvGAsG79n
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbR7CkKwTRc
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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?”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeQEBWJXme
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSkcKXKin6
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“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6J2FeLiFk
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“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJKn79AYxE
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdZcVL15wI
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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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsjuLj0MYI
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Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokcgLImv4Q
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“I went there after leaving class last night.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhn5VsLx6d
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“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2sfevWpaa
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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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecgAIBpIoD
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtsNXcty4L
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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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIYZIfrdTI
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Now his eyebrows shoot up.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡituXchDfHX
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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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eacEoo26U
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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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRECpAMzZP
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Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz1Tm3qlZ9
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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?”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsDRAstZBg
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“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ107G2OAZgJ
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“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMvJaDHd1Y
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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?”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQ1MC0094V
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc15SgFRQLN
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“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxLBrxHHOf
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3jDUwsH5M
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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…”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaRcjG6kjq
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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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U5QflgVRs
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Thank you, Connor.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6MExx16e8
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