Love Struck (The Taylor Brothers Book 4)

It was quite late when the doctors could come up with their diagnosis and start the treatment. Her mom had a developed pneumonia due to a carcinoid tumor in her lungs. It was an advanced stage of lung cancer. Annalise world crashed at the news. With her dad too battling for life, she had no idea how to deal with the situation any more. Her uncle gave her the support that she needed. It was in the wee hours of the morning when she returned home and broke down in her aunt Emily's arms. It was decided that her siblings would shift to her uncle's house but Annalise didn't want to leave her parents' home and go anywhere. No one forced her.

After trying to sleep for a few hours, Annalise got up to get ready for college. She knew that her uncle was bearing the cost of her education and therefore she never missed her classes. She hugged and kissed her teary-eyed siblings as they were about to leave home with their aunt. Her cousin brothers, Erik and Dean who were twenty-two and the oldest among uncle Edward's four sons came to help them pack up.

Annalise went to the hospital to see her mom. Her condition was the same with no improvement and her uncle and her cousin, Mike who was as old as her was there with him. They met the doctor and discussed the course of treatment to be followed. The doctor's words didn't give her much hope as she came face to face with the harsh reality that her mom might not be able to make it. With a heavy heart she went to college. For the sake of her siblings she had to study hard and start earning more than what her internship paid her. After college, she went straight to the hospital to find Erik there alone.

"Any improvement? Did mom gain consciousness?" She asked him with a worried look on her face.

"No improvement. She hasn't gained consciousness yet. In fact she's sinking more with more complications, " said Erik, his face pale after he had a word with the doctor just a few minutes ago.

Annalise sat down beside him as a sense of hopelessness engulfed her. "What do I do, now? With dad already battling for life, I don't think I can cope with this now," said Annalise, shaking her head.

Erik placed a hand around his sister's shoulders. "Don't breakdown now Anna. You're not alone in this. We're with you every step of the way. Go to work. I'm here. Soon dad and Dean will join us," said Erik tenderly. Annalise nodded. She got up to go to the restaurant. She was already ten minutes late anyway.

"I'll come down to pick you up after work. You're moving into our house. I won't let you live alone there at the apartment. No, don't object because it's dad's orders," said Erik. Annalise nodded and left the hospital. She took the bus and reached the restaurant twenty minutes late. Chef Garner was furious with her.

"We deduct pay if you're late. If you don't want that, you'll need to put in twenty minutes extra work today," he growled and Annalise nodded meekly.

"Yes sir," she said. She didn't tell anyone what she was going through. That was too personal. If she had the time she would surely tell Susan. She immediately started her work but the fatigue and sleeplessness from last night got the better of her and she kept making mistakes at work. Chef Garner was pissed off at her but he didn't say much seeing the dark circles under her eyes. It was nearly evening and she had still been going on without a break, making more mistakes now. Susan's duty was over and she left but Annalise had to continue for an extra twenty minutes. Erik parked his Mercedes outside the restaurant and went inside when his sister didn't appear even ten minutes after her duty was over.

The moment Annalise returned from the staff washroom, she saw her brother sitting at one of the tables, sipping his coffee. "I'll be free after twenty more minutes, Erik. Can you wait?" She asked him.

"Sure, I'll wait for you," said Erik.

Nelson had waited the whole day to see Annalise. Although he hated the sight of her, somehow he couldn't erase thoughts of her out of his head. He was frustrated that he had no control over his mind which kept migrating towards Annalise and her candid confession last evening. The whole day he waited for her to come over to his office to talk to him, after all she was in love with him. However, he was disappointed that she didn't. The whole day he went out of his office many times but he didn't once catch a glimpse of her throughout the day.

So, when he finally saw her talking to one of the customers, he seethed with anger. So here she was fixing a customer for herself while he was waiting for her since morning. "That man is loaded. His shining blue Mercedes is parked outside. Dunno what Annalise is doing with him," shrugged a jealous Greg watching Annalise talk to the rich guy.

Nelson seethed with anger. "Wh*re," he gritted out as she walked back to the kitchen. Annalise heard him distinctly and turned to look at him with confusion.   She wasn't sure that she heard the word her Nelson said. She was shocked to see him staring at her with pure hatred in his eyes. Did he mean that for her? Not possible. He was her green-eyed savior, her love. Maybe she had misunderstood him. She smiled at him faintly and went into the kitchen. After slogging for the next few minutes, she was done. Changing out of her uniform, she smiled faintly  at her brother.

"Done?" Erik asked her. Getting up, he paid for his coffee and left with her. Nelson was furious at her. How dare she uses the restaurant to trap her customers? How could she shamelessly go with that man? He saw her climbing into his Mercedes. Nelson wanted to give her a piece of his mind the next time he saw her.

Annalise fainted in the car from sheer fatigue, lack of food, sleeplessness and excessive stress. Erik took her to his house and his mom was too worried seeing her condition. She helped Erik lay her down in the guest room.

"Poor thing, she shouldn't have gone to work today, " said his mom. His dad was at the hospital and the children were doing their homework with their youngest brother, Derek, who was seventeen.

"I know and they're overworking her you know. She doesn't get any break from what I noticed, " said Erik with a sigh.

"What's the need to work right now? She could just concentrate upon her studies," said his mom.

"I know. You can put that into her head when she's conscious, " said Erik.

"I will, " said his mom. Erik went out of the room and aunt Emily tried to revive Annalise. At last she opened her eyes and looked around her weakly. Her head was swooning and she saw blurred images of her aunt in front of her.

"Are you feeling better, Anna?" She asked with worry.

"Yes. Is mom better? I need to go to the hospital, aunt Emily, " she said trying to get up.

"No Anna. You're not well. Edward and Dean are there at the hospital. I won't let you go in this condition, " said her aunt. Alexis brought in her dinner and placed it on the coffee table in her room. Her aunt helped her to the couch. Annalise ate the food hungrily, realizing how hungry she was. Skipping meals regularly was taking a toll upon her body.

"You will stay back and rest at home tomorrow. I'll send Alexis and Erik to get your clothes and stuff from your house, " said aunt Emily. Annalise nodded. She was too weak to argue. She went to sleep immediately and didn't wake up the entire night, her tired body limply lying on the warm, comfortable bed.

The next morning when she woke up, she felt much better. There was an eerie silence in the house followed by sobs every now and then from Alexis and aunt Emily. A strange feeling of dread spread all over her as she slowly walked over to the living room where everyone was. Her aunt and Alexis were sobbing while a pale faced Derek, Aries and Mike sat beside them with their heads in their hands. They looked up seeing Annalise.

Alexis ran to her and hugged her tight, sobbing loudly in her arms. "Anna, mom's no more. She passed away last night due to multi-organ failure," informed a broken Alexis. Annalise froze at her words. Was this a nightmare? How can her mom die? Just two days back they had talked and now she was no more? She staggered to a chair with disbelief. Aunt Emily went up to her and hugged both the girls to her chest.

"I need to go to the hospital, now," said Annalise.