Beatrice had grown bored of Rooster’s dumb jock antics and now had one of the bartenders, Dahlia, a former student of the French clown school Ecole Phillipe Gaulier, in her bed. Meanwhile, the DJ, who everyone thought had gone home, was actually blowing lines with Adaka off an antique mirror that cost more than a car. One of the Livis was painting Rooster’s toenails Russian Navy, her signature color nail polish, while composing a new pop song in her head. Murf had scored big-time, sharing a king bed with Daler and Rowney. Clement and DandyZ were hosting a small dance party in their seventies disco bedroom. They had shared their stash of Ecstasy with Ben and Addison and the second Livi, and the five of them were dancing to Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing” like their parents once had at the Limelight. Brayton had discovered the ballroom on the far side of the house, turned on the chandeliers, and was performing a private ballet for a few party stragglers who couldn’t go home because they hadn’t yet returned from their trip to shroomland.

In this one glorious moment in time, every teenager in the house was happy making memories they would never forget, but no one more so than Vronsky. When he opened the door to Anna’s room, he paused for a moment at the threshold, giving her an opportunity to turn him away. Instead Anna burrowed her face into his neck, and he crossed the threshold into her room, kicking the door closed behind him.

He didn’t want to let her go, but he put her down gently on the bed.

Anna was now the one who felt as though she was waking up from a beautiful dream. Worry flashed on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her gently.

“I don’t want this night to be over. I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to fall asleep because I don’t want to wake up to tomorrow.” Where she once had control over her words in his presence, this was no longer the case. Anna felt compelled to tell him everything, how me made her feel, how he excited her and frightened her at the same time.

“Anna,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “My Anna, the night’s not over, and I’m not going anywhere.” She looked at him, her dark eyes sparkling with hope, like he was the only boy in the world who could nourish her back from the brink of starvation. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore, he couldn’t be patient, or slow, or careful, one moment longer. It was he who was the one who was starving, and it was she who could save him.