Petrichor [ H I A T U S ]

VII

A/N: It's an early update :) (2 days early!😄).
Writer's block sucks. As a result, chapter seven is incredibly SHORT. I wanted to fulfil my commitment of updating weekly though, so here you go. Chapter eight is longer my lovelies. To make up for how suck-ish this one is, I decided to give y'all a double update :) ENJOOYY

***

"Stupid Omari and his friends." Sawyer said through gritted teeth, as she watched the trio emerge from a black pickup truck through the study room windows.

"Give him a break Sawyer."

Sawyer jumped. Dandy stood by the doorway with her hands planted on her hips. Her disappointment in Sawyer's actions was no secret. She had expressed it the previous Friday, upon noting the solemn faces of Sawyer's visitors as they had left the residence, and was not going to stop doing so until the girl understood how irrational she was being.

"You're treating him the same way Stephanie and her friends treated you."

"No, I'm not. My reasons are valid." Sawyer defended.

Dandy shook her head. "Defend yourself all you want, but the truth will remain : you're the bully now."

Sawyer scowled. She's wrong.

"I'm not wrong my dear." Dandy said, well aware of what Sawyer might have been thinking. "Stop being so dramatic and go welcome your guests. POLITELY."

Sawyer stepped away from the window and huffed. She knew she had no other option but to do as she was told. Having been Sawyer's maid for nearly a decade, Dandy was the only other person who could reach out to her without provoking a tantrum.

Sawyer made it to the front door and put on her best fake smile as she opened it.

"Hey Sawy...aaaa." Lloyd stepped back and clutched his chest.

What is up with this girl?!

Wendy contained a shriek and hid behind Omari, who's jaw gaped open. Fake smiles were definitely not Sawyer's best suit. All she needed was a twin, for the writers of 'The shining' to cast them for any possible sequels. She recovered by pursing her lips.

"Welcome..." She said awkwardly.

Her guests slowly entered the house, sharing confused looks as they placed their shoes on the shoe rack and followed her to the living room. Much to Omari's surprise, she had her Bible and a notepad ready. He hoped that meant the previous week was a glitch.

"Before we begin," Sawyer spoke up, "I'd like to apologise to Wendy and Lloyd for my behaviour last week, and also to request that Omari always sits two seats away from me as to avoid any inconveniences, such as the one from last week."

Wendy prodded Omari to speak up. 'It's not worth it.' he mouthed. With a heavy sigh, Wendy opened the Bible study. She honestly thought that their summer was supposed to be going a lot better than it was, but reserved her thoughts and focused on the task at hand.

***

The meeting went on smoothly. At least that's what Sawyer thought. Her version of smooth involved interaction between her, Wendy and Lloyd and minimal input from Omari. Omari remained a good sport through it all and was not as hurt by Sawyer's actions as he'd formerly been. He knew he was lying to himself when he felt that she'd warm up to him.

"I hope I'm not disturbing."

The four young adults turned to face a cheerful Mrs Shield, whose arms were filled with paper bags. Being the gentleman that he was, Omari offered to assist her.

"Go on with your meeting loves!" She insisted. "I only came to check up on you."

"We were just wrapping up Mrs Shield." Omari politely protested, before swiftly grabbing the items from the woman's hands.

She smiled gaily, a clear contrast from her daughter's constipated smile. She led him to the kitchen, breathlessly explaining her day to him. He offered a small smile each time she turned to look at him, and gave the occasional 'ah' whenever she expectantly looked at him for a response.

"Place those on the counter love." She told him, flashing him a smile that could make flowers grow.

'You are nothing like your daughter.' he wanted to say. He settled for a nod and walked out. On his way back to the living room, Omari unlocked his phone and checked his calendar. His heart sank when he noted that ten more Fridays of his schedule were lined with meetings with Sawyer. Two meetings and he was not only already bored out of his mind, but he was despised and unwanted like no man's business. He needed to find a way out of them as soon as he could before he went mad. Lloyd pulled Omari to the side as soon as he stepped into the room.

"Hey Omari," Lloyd whispered, "Mind if I crash at your place tonight?"

Omari's brow knitted with worry. "You don't even need to ask." he said in a hushed voice, "But you know you have the liberty to move out right?"

Lloyd dug one hand into his pocket and ran a hand across his face with the other.

"You know very well that I can't stand the thought of leaving my mum alone with-"

"What are you guys urgently whispering about?" Wendy asked as she joined the boys, suspicion livid in her tone.

Mind your own business Valentine, Omari thought.

"Omari here thinks Sawyer's kind of cute." Lloyd said without missing a beat.

His lie earned him a punch in the stomach. Although Wendy did not buy it, she walked towards Sawyer, who had turned the TV on. As Wendy approached, Sawyer pretended to be occupied with her hair. Unbeknownst to all of them, Lloyd's lie fuelled Sawyer's raging fire of hatred, yet softened her idea of Omari all the same. It was confusing really.