Rocked (Rock & Romance II.)

Chapter 8. - Cat's Out The Bag

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to jordynsusanna1 ! Thank you for the love & support!

***

I was having a coffee break with Albie outside of our lab, when my phone rang. Suspicious, his eyes drifted to my cell, as I hit 'decline' on the call. I didn't have Ash's number saved in my phone, but I didn't need to. I've had it memorized already. "The girls trying to pull you away from work again?" He asked, and I knew he didn't believe that for one second.

Albert was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. He knew London and Callie had their own ringtones for when they called. Plus, I was pretty sure he saw the number. I was only hoping he didn't see it long enough to retain it. "It's not them."

When he didn't continue talking about the electronics he was working on designing for next semester, I glanced over at him. Albie was observing me, his chocolate brown eyes scanning my face for clues I wasn't going to give. Sure, we were more than lab-mates, but I didn't owe him an explanation.

"You're not going to tell me, then?" He asked, but that little sparkle of amusement I saw in Ash's eyes when he talked to me wasn't present. I couldn't help but compare the two together, as the two males I've most recently came to know intimately. They were nothing alike, and while I could've always sworn Albie was my type – brilliant, collected, reliable – now there wasn't a single part of me wishing I could see him naked.

I shook my head. "Nope."

Albie didn't say anything. "Is it a guy?"

"Let's not ruin our friendship, shall we?" I replied, without any emotion in my voice. We weren't friends. We were colleagues, who occasionally made the decision to relieve the stress caused by their jobs on each other. "Tell me more about your term project."

"They're cutting someone before the semester ends." He said instead, taking me by surprise. "I heard Dr. Aldridge over the phone this morning." I sighed. Here we went again. This program was already nearly impossible to get into, and every few weeks, they let someone go. Even if there was no reason – no one failing a class, no one missing any lab work, and no behavioural issues either.

They just woke up, decided it was time to ruin someone's life today - and then there was one last person sitting with us.

This kept the few remaining students on our toes, and in a constant state of stress. I sacrificed my summers, my free time, my life to become the best biomedical engineer there ever was, and going in the rate the program was going, I might never get to live my dream.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." I told him, even though he didn't need to hear it. Albie knew he was the smartest person in the group, and if we combined that with the rest of his advantages – such as being a white, rich, male – he was the best the program could offer. I only wished I shared his confidence, especially now that both of my best friends were scattered all over the newsstands every week.

It was just a matter of time before they decided that I was too high profile to hide away in a lab, and cut me too.

"I wouldn't be worried about you either. Your father is a legend." I was sure he meant to comfort me, but his statement did the exact opposite. Yes, my father was a genius, and one of the most recognized scientists in the world – but I was not here because of him.

I sighed, no longer wanting to have this conversation. "Let's get back to work, shall we?"

Albie chuckled. "You're anxious about it now, Walsh?"

I laughed along with him, but in reality, I've never not been anxious.

***

A few hours later, my phone rang again – this time, it was London. I noticed the way Albie eyed me from across the lab, but lucky for him, he didn't press it.