“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.497Please respect copyright.PENANArlq3kmhNgA
497Please respect copyright.PENANArHaDsAi0fX
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANAx1GwOubps6
497Please respect copyright.PENANAMjg26PLWpa
Taking it off, she leaves it against the wall beside her water bottle. Maybe no one will notice—497Please respect copyright.PENANA9bK24jDink
497Please respect copyright.PENANA9sYFrfpUpH
“What happened to your arm?” Connor asks, standing arms akimbo and looking at her in the mirror.497Please respect copyright.PENANA90JENMAV1r
497Please respect copyright.PENANA0jn4OC4QSP
She tugs at the bandage self-consciously. “Oh. Nothing, really. I just needed a few stitches.”497Please respect copyright.PENANAoXo6ejieNb
497Please respect copyright.PENANAXAmr0gZFUu
He turns around and looks at her directly now. She’s aware of how all eight of the other dancers are watching them.497Please respect copyright.PENANAcfRFC4BmtQ
497Please respect copyright.PENANAItJlZrTCCF
“Stitches?” he repeats, saying it like it’s a dirty word. “What happened between last night and now that you had to get stitches?”497Please respect copyright.PENANAFnTK0jXiaF
497Please respect copyright.PENANAIqBOvCSlpY
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANA4stXr4Spja
497Please respect copyright.PENANAD4nM2WFl4h
“I…kinda got stabbed.” She scratches around the stitches, through the bandage.497Please respect copyright.PENANACcXyhpoT6A
497Please respect copyright.PENANAUMIv1PJRC5
“You…kinda…got…stabbed,” he says, taking a step toward her. “How does that happen?”497Please respect copyright.PENANAuvob0JDrzI
497Please respect copyright.PENANAf8sROKqyII
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANAiTc3BaQszt
497Please respect copyright.PENANAs8ZLDV2tKK
“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.”497Please respect copyright.PENANACLkYLfDYPD
497Please respect copyright.PENANA4GdSVcwBeE
Connor doesn’t say anything, so she keeps going.497Please respect copyright.PENANALa5idjkok8
497Please respect copyright.PENANAVJDUEl4abV
“I went there after leaving class last night.”497Please respect copyright.PENANAO0SYTAd9A8
497Please respect copyright.PENANAeOII9fvFWr
“At midnight,” he says now, as if he’s just making sure.497Please respect copyright.PENANAqZRldXgg0G
497Please respect copyright.PENANAegEyw4aSfA
“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.”497Please respect copyright.PENANA4LA7BrG1jK
497Please respect copyright.PENANAsF5Yq4ECkr
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANAZwCR4RDXLW
497Please respect copyright.PENANAxC2XFvrtr1
“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.”497Please respect copyright.PENANAAL8lXINGgY
497Please respect copyright.PENANARyk9zRoTJg
Now his eyebrows shoot up.497Please respect copyright.PENANAkm46gAwVrQ
497Please respect copyright.PENANAuLnYuEQZMB
She adds quickly, “It’s fine, though. I was lucky. He went for my stomach, but I managed to block him with my arm.”497Please respect copyright.PENANA0Hr7JSKd4o
497Please respect copyright.PENANAhAHSGiD0AV
“Lucky,” he says, voice dripping with disbelief. “You were lucky you were only stabbed in the arm and not in the gut.”497Please respect copyright.PENANAjTLxfkQfoL
497Please respect copyright.PENANAsstUibPHNt
Veins in his right temple turn into miniature mountain ranges.497Please respect copyright.PENANAXnRYG7o52y
497Please respect copyright.PENANAd6WtHZa2oh
“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?”497Please respect copyright.PENANAyIlrCcCluL
497Please respect copyright.PENANAkbEMo0fR9b
“I can’t rely on you all the time. You said so yourself,” she says.497Please respect copyright.PENANAFHVDx3z9Jp
497Please respect copyright.PENANALrXwHKHyKZ
“Connor, man,” another of the dancers says, stepping in. “At least she’s okay, right?497Please respect copyright.PENANADtf8KxBvrV
497Please respect copyright.PENANAyaREOhy7dq
“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?”497Please respect copyright.PENANAlslZtaI78w
497Please respect copyright.PENANA3MsZfjX8Dh
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANA181UCDHMJZ
497Please respect copyright.PENANAku15Mpz5up
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “I was reckless.”497Please respect copyright.PENANABBJLl23Mub
497Please respect copyright.PENANARuzjNfaZ7g
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANAQHCwOPG7xC
497Please respect copyright.PENANAIdZBHUJBoi
“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…”497Please respect copyright.PENANAugkCYlq55S
497Please respect copyright.PENANAcNCQjTG5O2
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.497Please respect copyright.PENANA7Kj1SuPlOp
497Please respect copyright.PENANAnZWU51qdlI
Thank you, Connor.497Please respect copyright.PENANA548o72wdD2
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Moments
Author:
TejiReve
ISSUE #5
Wounded: Eve
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