Audrey shrugged him off and launched into a dramatic retelling of the sounds she’d heard on her sleep-tracking app. She’d always been a good storyteller, and this was no exception. My friends were hanging on every word, their faces a combination of amused and horrified.

“Holy shit,” Priya said when Audrey finished. “Holy shit.”

“How are you not more freaked out?” one of Priya’s friends demanded. “I don’t think I’d ever sleep again.”

Connor cleared his throat. “Let’s hear it.”

“Connor,” Priya scolded. “I’m sure Audrey doesn’t want to have to listen to that again.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Audrey said, already holding out her phone, the star-spangled interface of the app visible. She looked around the group, arching her groomed brows, before hitting the “play” button. “Prepare to freak out.”

Everyone leaned in as if pulled by a centrifugal force, even me. I thought back to that night in the sorority house, Nick trying to get into the room where Audrey was sleeping. She’d said she’d turned him away that night. Could he have come back?

“Totally creepy, right?” Audrey said after the recording ended, her voice artificially bright.

“Yeah, it’s creepy,” Connor agreed. “But not for the reason you think.”

She tilted her head, her hair cascading over her shoulders. “What do you mean?”

“That’s not another voice,” Connor said, pointing to her phone. “That’s you.”

“That’s not me,” she protested. “Weren’t you listening? The voices are obviously different.”

“Hear me out. One of my brothers talks in his sleep, too, and he does that thing where he changes voices. It’s creepy if you’re not expecting it, but it’s just him.” He leaned over and patted Audrey on the hand. “I get why it weirded you out, though.”

His hand lingered over hers, and I glanced at him sharply. My stomach bottomed out when I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same hungry look he’d had the night he tried to kiss her at the bar, the same look that Max wore and the same one I’d seen on Nick so many times.

Don’t be surprised, I chastised myself bitterly. It’s not like you didn’t know that Audrey takes everyone.

I concentrated on remaining calm and keeping a bland smile on my face, but when Audrey pointed a grateful smile at Connor, I heard myself snapping, “Well, I’ve heard Audrey talk in her sleep plenty of times, and that’s not her.”

“What?” Audrey said, turning to me with eyes wide. “You have? When?”

My cheeks burned as I realized I’d never told Audrey I heard her talk in her sleep. I’d always been embarrassed, feeling as though I’d overheard something that was private. But now I had admitted it in front of an audience, and everyone was looking at me like I was some sort of freak.

Once a freak, always a freak, Emily Snow giggled in my ear.

“You know,” I said suddenly, rising. “I have a lot of work to do. I should get going.”