Chapter Text
Richard Scarlet didn’t know his cousin.
His mother never brought her up; she only brought up his aunt. The only thing he really knew was that he was a Scarlet and that the Scarlets had a nasty split caused largely by his mother and his aunt, and that was it. He didn’t even know what “being a Scarlet” meant.
Richard never gave it more than a passing thought. To him, it wasn’t something he had to be concerned with. He was more concerned about his life in Milwaukee, not some aunt that his mother never elaborated on. His main concern was getting through school, becoming a lawyer, and living out his life.
Being stuck in a pencil-pushing job that consumed nearly every waking minute of his life was not in the cards though. He still trudged along, if only so he could have some merciful chance of paying off even a portion of his student loans.
His aunt eventually faded into the back of his memory.
Tabitha Scarlet knew of her cousin.
Pearlanne had made it a habit of mentioning both him and her aunt whenever possible, usually in a way that made them sound as horrible as possible. She didn’t believe most of it, though she kept that to herself.
All the same, she had little desire to meet this cousin. In her mind, she had no good reason to reach out to someone whose mother had abandoned Scarlet Hollow for some dream of the big city. Besides, she had a coal mine to run. Her attention had to be devoted to the business that kept the town functioning.
Pearlanne’s death changed things. A funeral needed to be planned, and with it family needed to be invited. Despite the split in her family, Tabitha used what free time she had to search for a way to contact Richard. It was only fair.
The death of his mother hit Richard harder than he would like to admit. Wrecked with grief, the already socially limited Richard froze emotionally. Though some of his colleagues and close friends got to see his stoicness drop, he spent most of his time in public with a cold expression. In private, though, he was a wreck, looking over memories of him and his mother throughout his life. Watching her deteriorate the way she did destroyed him.
Her funeral made things somewhat better by giving him a sense of closure, but it did nothing to alleviate his sorrow. By that point, he could have left his stoic mask behind, but instead, he chose to further guard himself. He kept many of his colleagues at arm's length, and even his close friends noticed his interactions with them being far more cold than in the past.
It wasn’t a healthy way of dealing with his grief per se, but he continued anyway. Whatever got him through life was enough for him at this point.
Her call came late in the day, one of the few days Richard was home earlier than 2 am.
His apartment, lonely and quiet, was suddenly filled with the echo of his phone ringing. Richard groaned as he reached for his phone. This is what I get for thinking I’m in the clear tonight, he bitterly thought. “Hello?” he said in as neutral of a tone as he could muster.
“Hello,” a feminine voice replied. Richard had never heard this voice before in his life. “Am I speaking to Richard Scarlet?”
“Yes,” Richard confirmed. “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”
He heard a disgruntled sigh let out by the person on the other end. “I figured your mom would have told you a little about me…” Richard almost felt bad for whoever was speaking to him on the other end. Another sigh, this one shorter, from the person on the other end. “I’m Tabitha, your cousin.”
I have a cousin? Richard thought.
“I’m calling to inform you that my mom, Pearlanne Scarlet, has died,” Tabitha continued, leaving Richard little time to put his thoughts in order. “A funeral will be held next Sunday, and given that she’s your aunt, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to come.”
Richard sat in silence for a few moments processing what he’d been told. Finally, he spoke again. “Okay, wait,” he began, “I’ll go, but first I need to know where this funeral even is.”
“It’s in Scarlet Hollow,” Tabitha answered. As if sensing Richard’s next question, she continued. “I’ve already bought a bus ticket for you, so you don’t need to worry about transportation.”
“I see…” Richard scratched his hair. “And when does the bus leave?”
“Early Monday morning.”
Goddamnit… Richard stifled a groan. Another question popped into his head. “Wait, if the funeral’s next Sunday, why do you want me there on Monday?”
Now it was Tabitha’s turn to be slightly annoyed. “Because it's easier this way,” she bluntly responded. “Would you rather attend a funeral on no rest after a long ride, or would you rather attend a funeral in a town you’ve been at for a week?”
“I suppose you have a point there,” Richard conceded. “I’ll see you Monday, then.”
“Yes,” Tabitha replied. “Good night, Richard.” With that, she ended the call.
Richard was again left in a quiet apartment, though this time significantly more confused than he was previously. Where the hell even is Scarlet Hollow? he thought as he opened a maps app. After some searching, he found out that it was a small coal town in North Carolina. It would certainly be a far cry from what he’s lived with up in Milwaukee his whole life, but it wasn’t like his life was particularly enjoyable.
Maybe this could be a good change of pace, he thought. And if anything, at least I’ll be able to take the week off. He shut his phone off and went to bed.
Yet as he did so, he couldn’t help but feel as if fate had forced that call between him and Tabitha. Though he didn’t know much about Scarlet Hollow, something deep down in him knew that it was home. Something deep down knew that this would be a homecoming to a town that needed the missing Scarlet it so desperately needed.
He didn’t think much about that feeling though, instead letting himself drift off into sleep. With any luck, it would be gone by morning.
Tabitha had no clue what she was going to be expecting from Richard, a realization she came to only after she hung up. The townspeople had gotten on her nerves enough, but now she was adding to the equation a member of the other half of the family whose mother Pearlanne had a vicious rivalry with, and with whom abandoned the town.
She didn’t know if Richard held any bitter feelings, but judging from how he carried himself during their phone call, he held none. He didn’t even know her.
It’s only a week, she thought as she made her way to bed. If he can just stay out of trouble, then he’ll make it to the funeral easily and be gone with no issue. She wondered, though, how it would feel to have one more Scarlet in town. She was pretty lonely, especially with her relationship with most of the townsfolk. It would be nice to have a member of the family with her in the estate.
She shook that thought out of her head. Richard would probably want out the minute he got there, with her luck.
He would probably just be a distraction, anyway.