Delirium

Chapter 61 - Objectification

 ~part III of four-part update~

After that horrendous luncheon, Theo was grateful to learn that Calliope Warrington had decided not to linger in the city.

The original plan had been for the ship to remain anchored in Capri for a few days. But after only the couple of hours they had all spent there, the boat had already been moving once again, heading for Palermo a few days early.

And once they were anchored after the nine-hour trip, Theo had quickly decided that he liked Palermo very much.

The new coastal city offered sweet, perfect, blissful distraction.

There were tourists, and the beach, and restaurants. Even at night, the city was loud and filled with music, parties and clubs on every corner. And without the other parents around, just Calliope Warrington and Venetia Derrick chaperoning, Theo and his friends were all allowed to drink in town.

Thus, everything seemed to pass in a blur.

It had been only two days since they had arrived. And the majority of that time was just a haze of liquor, bottled emotions, and unspoken words for Theo.

Each time he'd found his thoughts drifting back to that wretched lunch, recalling the things his father had said, the way he had acted—Theo simply drowned them all out with another shot of liquor. Vodka in the morning, tequila in the day, and whiskey at night.

He wanted to drink the entire memory of that afternoon away.

So this was what they had all been doing for the past two days. Shopping, drinking, eating, drinking, sight-seeing, drinking, dancing, drinking, swimming, and also drinking.

Today in particular, they had all stayed aboard the ship for the entire morning, the deckhands helping them go out on the sleek contraptions they called 'jet skis.'

Theo had opted not to go out on one because, well, he didn't want to die.

But he had quite enjoyed watching the others. Especially when Cassius and Jolie had switched places on theirs, leaving Jolie to steer. Which, of course, she did so like a maniac whilst Cassius looked to be holding onto her for dear life.

It was probably the most eventful Christmas Eve Theo had ever experienced.

Now, after dinner on the main deck of the ship, Theo sat on the plush cushions of one of the lounge chairs, a crystal rocks glass in hand.

It was almost gone—his third Manhattan cocktail this evening.

His face had become numb probably an hour ago. Right after his third glass of wine at dinner.

Seated at his side, Cassius sipped from his glass of gin and tonic, laughing at something Lucian said. The rest of the Slytherin boys surrounded them, Adrian and Peregrine sitting on the lounge chair next to them, Lucian, Miles, and Graham all standing around as they talked.

Theo was admittedly having trouble keeping up with the conversation, finding his thoughts often drifting back to...

He glanced past Adrian's head, the rest of the deck coming into view.

Daphne sat upon the arm of the outdoor sofa, her legs crossed as she held a martini glass with some kind of pink cocktail within. A bit of the rosy liquid sloshed over the side as she laughed at something Catherine was doing—some sort of reenactment that featured furious hand gestures and a terrified expression.