𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄━︎━︎H. Mikaelson ✓︎

𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
CHECK IN

HE WAS STARTING TO GET worried. He sat there in his room, phone clenched in his hand as he stared at the wall in front of him. His thoughts were running a thousand miles per hour. Worry was poison in his veins. It had been as soon as the three day mark hit. Grayson Stark hadn't heard anything from his little sister in a week, and it was driving him absolutely insane. He cared for her so much, he had simply watched her leave and then sat in his room with his phone in his hand, waiting for her to call. And she had. Calling him, telling him she had made it there okay, but after that he hadn't heard from her.

His knee bounced up and down, watching as the sun started to set as another day passed by without a single word from his sister. Maybe he should try to call her. Well, he had and it had went straight to voicemail so he just assumed that her phone had died. So why hadn't she charged it and called him back? His gut was telling him that something was wrong. That she had run into trouble and hadn't been able to escape it.

He shook his head at the thought. Lilianna in trouble? She could handle anything. He'd seen her handle everything that had come across her path. She wasn't new to the hunting business, she'd been trained since she could walk, and had been sent on a path of revenge once their father died which made her more determined to kill those that weren't simply flesh and blood with human DNA. Lilianna was the best, she couldn't be defeated.

But maybe the day had come. Maybe someone or something stronger than Lilianna had hunt her down and killed her. Just as it had done to their grandmother generations before. Except, their grandmother's biggest weakness was love, and the amount of times he'd heard Lilianna swear up and down she'd never fall in love with something that was such an abomination to the world made his head hurt. He ran a hand through his dark locks, trying to decide what it was that he should do before he looked at his phone and sighed, dialing her number once again.

He listened as it rang, and rang, and rang until finally her voicemail filled his ears. He clenched his jaw before hanging up and placing his phone onto his desk. He pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes, taking a deep breath before leaning back in the chair and shaking his head. He shouldn't be so worried about her. He knew she could take care of herself. Yet, the desire to drive himself down to Mystic Falls and glance at her just to make sure she was alive and breathing was driving him insane. He decided to talk to his mother.

He made his way out of his room, walking down the hall of the house in search of her until he finally found her with a book in her hand and her reading glasses perched on her nose. He stopped for a moment, realizing that he hadn't seen his mother actually sit down and read since Lilianna had been born. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be worried, or if he should back away now and hope she stays like that forever and never bother him or Lilianna ever again. But of course, Talia Stark had other plans.

     "Ah, he finally leaves his room." She slapped her book closed and placed it in her lap, looking up at Grayson and removing her glasses from her face as she did so. She leaned back into the chair, one leg placed over the other. Talia cocked her head slightly before asking, "Finally done sulking about how your younger sister is a better hunter than you?" Grayson rolled his eyes, immediately regretting ever stepping foot out of his room in order to talk to the woman that hated his guts and favored Lilianna―︎even though it seemed she hated Lilianna more, when he knew that wasn't the case.

     "You could at least smile once in a while." Grayson muttered.

     Talia smiled before repeating her words, "Finally done sulking about how your younger sister is a better hunter than you? There. Was my performance more to your standards?"

     "And I'm going back to my room so that I can 'continue sulking about how my sister is a better hunter than me'." He turned to walk away, stopping when his mother called for him.

     "You came all this way," Talia shrugged. "What do you want?"

Grayson raised his eyebrows at her, sighing and shaking his head before taking a seat in front of her. He interlaced his fingers together, pursing his lips as he tried his best to gather his very loud and confusing thoughts. What would she say? He almost laughed at himself. This was Talia Stark, the woman who did nothing but obsess over the supernatural, constantly trying to find new ways to kill them. She'd probably think that he was just thinking way too much, overreacting. And maybe he was, but that didn't stop the worry that swirled inside him with each passing second.  He just needed another opinion. Even if that opinion was his awful mother's.

     "Lilianna hasn't called." Grayson started. "Not since her check in three days ago."

     Although she wouldn't admit this, Talia was surprised by the news. She controlled her emotions and instead cocked an eyebrow at her son. "So? I'm sure your sister finished her mission days ago and just took it upon herself to go exploring for a few days. You know how she gets when she's in a new place she knows nothing about."

     He sighed, nodding his head. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'm just worried about her. I've called her multiple times and it keeps going to voicemail. Maybe she's just somewhere that doesn't have any service." He stood up and forced a small smile. "Thanks." Talia simply nodded before watching as he made his way back towards is room.

Once she was sure that he was gone, that woman was quick to stand up, making her way to her own room and pressing a button on the side of her book shelf that revealed a small opening. She reached her hand inside before pulling out a duffel bag. She zipped the bag open, stuffing some clothes and weapons inside before zipping it up. She knew her daughter would never forget to check in, so something must've happened. And Talia was going to figure out what that something was.