Mr Thompson's Pub and Cabaret

Everyone was early to practice that morning, but it seemed like there wasn't a single person in the room. It was dead silent, although it probably wasn't appropriate to use that sort of analogy to describe it. Brendon grabbed Vera's hand tightly as they took a seat at one of the tables near the back.

There were two ways today could go; Lady Ellen would walk out and demand everyone change into their costumes because Rodger was perfectly fine and they had a show to run, or the feared worst. She would have nothing to say other than Rodger was gone, for good. And when Lady Ellen walked out, we all watched her intently. There was no emotion showing in her face, and every single person in that room was trying to read it, getting nothing but a blank book.

She sat down on the stage, looking out at everyone and then cleared her throat. "Last night, when I got to the hospital, I met with one of Rodger's doctors, and he told me that it was too late to do anything. He had died a little before he got to the hospital. There are police trying to catch the men that did it, but until then..." Her voice trailed off, and for the first time ever since Brendon stepped foot in Mr. Thompson's Pub & Cabaret, Lady Ellen seemed almost weak. "Until then, we're just going to keep the cabaret closed for a few days, just to get things figured out." She bit down on her lip, and traced the wood on the stage with her fingertips. She inhaled and then looked towards all of us. "Is there...anyone who has anything to stay?" she asked.

No one said anything, so Vera stood up. Lady Ellen's eyes met hers, and it seemed like they were communicating without saying a word.

Don't do it.

I have to.

They won't listen to you.

So what?

Lady Ellen was practically a mother to Vera, and Vera looked up to her almost as much as she had Mr. Thompson. It went without saying that they could read each other that way. That was one thing Brendon had managed to learn about her last night.

After she had gotten off the phone with her parents, Brendon had pulled her next to him and he listened to her as she talked more and more about everything the cabaret had done for her, everything Mr. Thompson and Lady Ellen had set up for her, for her future.

"But now it seems like the past," she'd told him.

Now she sat on the stage, right next to Lady Ellen, fingers tangled together. She didn't look anyone in the eye. She didn't need to. None of them would have returned the favor.

"It's no secret that I'm not everyone's favorite here," she said, quietly, before continuing. "And at times, I've felt like I don't belong. There's been a time were I'd been friends with all of you, and some of you at least humored me up until a few weeks ago." Her eyes flicked up, spotted Brendon's, and then disappeared back into her lap. "But despite all of that, Rodger made sure that I was okay with being here. He wanted me to feel at home, and he had done a damn good job at it." She chewed on her lip, hesitating, before taking a deep breath and spoke again. Her voice wavered, and Brendon wanted to walk up to her, and wrap his arms around her waist, but it wasn't going to happen. He couldn't move. It was like he was glued to his seat. He could tell Vera had something important to say, and it was just a matter of time before she let it out.

"A few years back, while I was still with Jason, he'd threatened me. He literally held a broken bottle to my throat and told me that if I didn't quit my job, he'd kill me, because I needed to stay with him. But it wasn't like he was working. And I was so scared, I didn't know what to do, or where to go, so I went to Rodger's apartment. He told me that my life wasn't worth risking for a job, because he could tell Jason wasn't bluffing. But I didn't want to give up this job. I didn't want to give it up for the world, and he knew that." She looked towards the side of the stage, absentmindedly, towards his empty office. "That night Rodger risked his life for me. He went over to Jason's, and tried to talk to him. When he came back and said there wasn't any chance he was going to listen, he offered to have me stay at his house, and I did. That was where I really felt like I was apart of this all. Whether it be with you all, or just with Rodger and Ellen. He was like a second father to me. And even when he hardly knew me, he had so much faith in me, I couldn't let him down." Tears were building up in the brims of her eyes and Brendon was almost ready to stand up and walk towards her, until he heard someone's voice echo through the momentarily silent bar.

"You make it seem like you're the only one who's upset about this."

Brendon turned towards Bambi who was now on her feet. She walked towards Vera and stood right in front of her. "Mr. Thompson was important to all of us. He was the figure all of us needed in our lives, and just because you had the privilege to call him Rodger and just because you got to prance around center stage every night doesn't make you any better than the rest of us, and it most certainly doesn't mean you're the most sad about the whole thing."

Brendon wasn't going to take this. He wasn't going to have someone telling Vera that she didn't mean what she was saying, because he knew that was what Bambi was going to be getting at. He stood up and walked towards her.

"I'm tired of everyone always going after Vera. I don't understand why. And fine, you have a problem with her. I'm not saying that I like it, but can't you understand that everyone is sad right now? Rodger was important to all of us. And I don't think being sad about the fact that he's gone should be a competition." He shook his head and glanced towards Lady Ellen and Vera. "I'm sorry," he muttered, before making his way outside of the cabaret and leaned against the wall. He rested his head against the bricks and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and giving himself a minute to calm down.

Rodger was gone. Forever. After all of this, all of the opportunities he'd given him, he was just gone. And there wasn't anything he could do to bring him back. He'd offered to help with all of the problems everyone had given him and Vera, and it was like he was practically welcoming him into his own family.

Lady Ellen walked out the door and looked at Brendon. Up close it was easy to see that her eyes were red. "Êtes-vous d'accord?"

"Ne pensez-vous pas que je devrais vous demander?"

"Ne les laissez pas à vous."

Brendon nodded, and they walked back into the cabaret. There were tears streaking down Vera's cheeks already and he shook his head again, wiping them away. "Don't cry," he whispered. "I'm here for you."

"That's why I'm crying," she said back, slowly looking up towards him.

"What are you going to do with the cabaret?" Spencer asked, sitting back in his chair.

Lady Ellen took a deep breath and raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to give it to one of you. I can't be here. I just...there's too much background to this place, and I won't be able to keep it up. I'll make my decision in a few days, but for now, it's going to be closed."