Serena

"No, no, nooooo please tell me it's wrong, it must be."

Eddie's sobs were nearly as bad as Mom's. "Chelsea, it's not a mistake. It's real."

It was like a bullet hit me between the eyes; my world ended, exploded. I staggered around, collapsing on the bed. I bawled, I screamed. I wailed like a crazed demon.

My grief was nothing. I knew Mom would be worse and she needed me. Without waiting, I packed a backpack and walked quickly to the motorway. Ignoring the no hitch hiking signs, I stuck out my thumb.

Dangerous... I didn't care. I needed to get home.

Luckily, I was picked up by a long-haul truck driver who did nothing but lecture me on the perils of hitchhiking. A lovely man. Fearing for my well-being he delivered me to our house, dropping me off at the gate. "Thanks, Tom," I called as he drove off in a cloud of repugnant diesel fumes.

Opening the door, I was greeted by the darkness. I don't mean light; I mean the joy that once pervaded every inch of that house was now extinguished. It was cold, vacant.

I found Mom and Eddie cuddled together on her bed. The moment she saw me she burst into a crazed fit of wailing tears, her shiny chocolate skin trembling.

She opened her arms and I fell into their cuddle. The three of us huddled together until our bodies were too dehydrated to shed another tear.

I needed to be strong, the way she was for me. Now it was my turn to step up. I left them and went to the kitchen. I turned on the jug and made tea. I found bread and made her favourite chicken sandwiches. I carried them into the bedroom and we sat in a circle eating and drinking. No words were needed. We looked blankly at each other. The gnashing of teeth and the slurping of tea were the only sounds.

The phone rang, Mom jumped and I ran to answer it. "Hello."

"This is Senior Sergeant Davidson. I need to talk to Serena if I may."

"Sorry, Mom can't come to the phone, but you can talk to me."

"Well, first off. I wanted to know if you will be home this afternoon?"

"Yes sir, we will be here all day."

"Is Serena going to be up for a discussion about the funeral?"

The word smacked me. It brought back the reality. Through the growing sniffles I mumbled. "I don't know, but I will be here."

He arrived after lunch and he was accompanied by two cars full of officers who carried bags of groceries, hot food and flowers. I had never seen so many flowers.

They traipsed into the house and each and every one gave Mom, Eddie and me hugs. All shared their condolences.

Eventually, the other officers left and there was only Sergeant Davison left.

We sat at the table. Eddie, trying to be the man of the house, sat tall.

Sergeant Davison asked if it would be all right if the force looked after the funeral. Dad was going to get a hero's send off.

As he was leaving, he handed over a huge envelope. It was as heavy as a brick. "We had a whip around at the station. Your father was a much loved and respected man."

I took the money as Mom ran for her bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

"Chelsea, there will be more," he added. "Every officer in the country will donate, and of course, there is the insurance."

Eddie and I nodded. He apologised. "I know it won't bring him back. But it might soften the blow."

He left and Eddie and I fell into each other's arms.

After a long, shared hug, I said, "I'm going to get some dinner going. You go and check on Mom."

He rallied to go and console Mom, while I prepared some dinner. Unlike our usual boisterous dinners, this was a dark solemn occasion. Mom pushed her food around the plate as Eddie and I tried to find some way to raise her spirits.

Watching her pick away at her food was torture. Her face twisted in a wretched sorrowful expression. Lost, abandoned, I could see the wheels turning. From nowhere she wailed. "What am I going to do without him? He was my life."

"Mom, you have Eddie and me, we will be here."

She sighed reached for our hands. "Thank you, but I need my man. We were going to grow old together, travel, see the world. Now what do I do? It's not fair."

"Mom, Dad died doing what he loved. You know how much he liked to help people."

In a flash of flying crockery, she swept the table of everything. Her eyes glazed over and she screamed. "I loved that man. We were meant to be together. Now he's gone and I am left alone. Who do I talk to in the night? Who is going to cuddle me, hold me?"

Ignoring the shattered plates, I rushed into her arms. "Mom, it's going to be all right. You have us. We will be here for you."

I had never seen Mom like this. She was always the chirpy positive one, full of energy. Seeing her vacant eyes staring past us as if we didn't exist was difficult to take.

I helped her to bed and Eddie concentrated on cleaning up. I helped her get changed for bed. I pulled back the blankets and she slipped between the sheets. With a long kiss, I closed the door and went back out to help Eddie.

As I approached, he hugged me. "What are we going to do, Sis? I don't know what to say. I loved Dad, as well, you know."

Giving him a peck on the cheek, I whispered, "I know that. We all did, Eddie, we all did. But we are going to have to be strong, supportive. I think we will have to organise everything. The funeral, the wake, everything. You have to help me, Eddie."

"I know, I'll try."

He went off to bed and I sat in the living room. I sat in the dark, remembering back to that first night when Dad brought me home. It wasn't fair. He should be here.

I poked my head in and Mom was awake, crying. I snuck over to the bed and slipped between the blankets. She pulled me into her arms and we hugged.

We lay in the darkness. Her beautiful huge almond eyes glistening in the dark. Her wet cheeks rubbing on my neck as we tried to get closer.

Mom and I had slept together many times over the years. When Dad was on night shift, she often came into my room and snuggled in beside me. "Move over, fatty," she used to jibe. All those times were fun, we joked like friends. It had always been fun, having Mom so close also provided me a confidante. She never judged or criticised me for the mistakes I made.

That night, though, was different, there was no fun, no giggling, no put downs or burns. That night, all I wanted was to take away Mom's pain. All I felt was the murky depths of despair, sucking us both down.

I woke in the morning to find Mom wrapped tightly around me, her body a warm blanket. Even in sleep her face was wet with tears.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. I was the first up. On auto-pilot, I clunked around, trying to put aside my own sadness. I had to be strong. I made breakfast, the noise waking Eddie, who appeared sleepy eyed. "Morning, Sis, how's Mom this morning?"

I shrugged, "She didn't sleep much, but she's sleeping now. Are you going to school today?"

With a shake of his head, he snapped, "You're joking right? Of course I'm not, are you?"

"No, I'm sorry, things are so confusing."

He started in on his cereal. "I'm going down to the station to find out what happens. They said they were going to handle everything, but there's so much to do. We will need music, right?"

I nodded my agreement. "Yes, I will try to talk to Mom about music. I know most of Dad's favourites, but she might have something special."

As he munched noisily on his cereal, I added, "While you are gone, I will go through the photo albums for the best ones."

He was gone in a flash. I walked in to check on Mom and she lay curled up under the blankets. The moment she saw me she held open her arms and I climbed back into bed and we cuddled together.

No words were spoken, just two people consoling each other, lost in their own grief. Funny how the warmth of a loved one's body can be so reassuring, so comforting, calming. Wrapped in Mom's arms, the world slowed down and the great sadness eased.

It was much later when we were able to get up, and I helped Mom shower and get dressed. As she wandered around in a daze, I did as promised, and went through the old photos. It was unreal. They had photos of everything. Prize givings, holidays. There were lots of Dad. My favourite was from Eddie's birth. Dad holding his minute old body in his arms. The look of sheer love on his face was unbelievable.

The next day was tough. Friends, neighbours and of course, a never-ending stream of Dad's colleagues flooded through the door. All offered their condolences and commiserations. It was a double-edged sword. On one hand, the outpouring of sympathy and grief helped, but saying the same thing over and over just kept the wound open and oozing.

The benches overflowed with food. Every single neighbour brought food. Mom went to bed and Eddie and I had a little cry as we went through the photos and music selection for the funeral.

That night I again slept with Mom. Our bodies wrapped together like comforters.

We received notification the next day. Dad's body was going to be ready for viewing. A squad car picked us up and delivered us to the funeral home. Eddie on one side and me on the other, we helped Mom through the door.

His casket lay with quiet organ music playing. The lid was open and we approached slowly, Mom stumbling in our arms. As we leaned over the open casket, there lay Dad, looking sallow and at peace. Mom lost it and burst into a cataclysmic tidal wave of tears. She sagged so heavily Eddie and I were barely able to hold her up.

We had to use the casket for support. Mom ran her hand over his cold flesh. Her tears falling on his uniform. It was no better for Eddie or me. I could feel Eddie's body wracked with trembling sobs. He was trying ever so hard to be the man, to be there for Mom.

Me, I felt devastated. Seeing my family, the only real family I had ever known split asunder was hard to take.

I held on to Mom, trying to convince myself I was holding her up, but I think perhaps it was the other way round.

God knows how long we stayed there, letting our tears wash over Dad as we tried to say goodbye.

Thankfully, there were a couple of Dad's closest friends standing inside the door and they helped us back outside. Mom was apoplectic. It was Eddie who stayed to talk to the funeral directors. I helped Mom back to the car. We cuddled together in the back. Our clothes were saturated.

The day of the funeral was worse. Seeing his coffin lower into the hole was like a cloud of reality settled over us. I am sure Eddie and Mom felt like I did, this was just a bad dream and he would somehow still be alive. But as the darkness of that fucking hole swallowed his coffin, Mom lost it again. Not even Eddie or I could hold her up. She fell to her knees screaming. "Nooooooooo."

It took a group of attendees to pick her up and support her as the service finished. For myself, I had never suffered such deep depressing engulfing desolation.

At home, we held a wake. The neighbours did all the cooking and the house overflowed with mourners. There were stories about Dad and his life. As his fellow officers told their stories, I think we were all overcome. I certainly didn't know how many times he had put his life on the line for his colleagues. It painted a picture of who he was. Not just a father, but a real hero.

I knew how well respected he was, but hearing all these stories, his bravery, his generosity his benevolence. It was like seeing the cover pulled from a gift, exposing its beauty to the world. I'm sure Mom didn't know a lot of this, either. I felt her tremble and go weak at the knees as story after story flowed.

Not just his bravery either. Every single one of our neighbours related how dad had loaned them money, fixed their cars, their houses. Supported them through struggles.

What a loss, not just for us, but the whole world.

The day finally came to an end and the visitors filed out offering hugs and kisses.

It was late when Eddie and I finished the cleaning up. Mom had long since gone to bed.

I opened her door to see if she was all right and her arms opened, inviting me in.

I slipped under the covers into her arms and for a long moment there were just tears.

From out of the darkness, I felt Mom's lips on mine. Moist with tears. I returned her kiss, but was shocked as her tongue slid into my mouth. Her full juicy lips parted as our kiss grew. No longer were we comforting each other, she kissed me and I received and returned it with the quickly growing intensity.

"Mom," I whispered hoarsely.

"Shush, baby doll."

Her hands slid over my sweatshirt, her fingers closing over my boob. Her mouth moved from mine; her succulent kisses slid down over my cheek onto my neck.

She nuzzled and nibbled. She kissed and her hands caressed my swollen hard nipples.

"Take off your top," she instructed.

Fearful of what was happening, I sat up and lifted off my shirt. I felt Mom's hands unclasping my bra. I tried to hold it against my quivering flesh but she whispered. "Let it go, baby doll, let it go."

I loosened my grip and she pulled it carefully from my grasp. Her arms tightened around me and pulled me back against her warm body.

Our naked flesh touched and it was like millions of little electric shocks shot through my body. I shivered as we faced each other. Our boobs crushed together. "Mom..."

Her mouth closed back over mine, our tongues caressing, tangling, dancing.

"Oh god," I whimpered. "Mom, what are we doing?"

"Making love," she whispered hoarsely. "Baby, I need you."

I felt my arms tighten around her neck, her need obvious. I suckled on her shoulder, trying to return her ardour. I was lost.

Not just because it was Mom, but this was new to me. I knew I told her about my crush on Arabella, but I had never acted on my desires. I didn't know what to do.

I followed her lead, my hands slipping from around her neck to take a caressing slide down her body. My white skin contrasted with the deep chocolate black of hers. Damn I was on fire, I felt things I knew I shouldn't, not for my mother. Not for Mom.

She tweaked my nipples and as I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of her gorgeous full pouty lips kissing their way down my body. Her wet mouth suckled my titties. Sucking, nibbling, biting eagerly.

"Oh fuck... Mom..." I sighed. The erotic sensations enveloping me entirely.

God, I was clammy, my armpits sticky. I played with her beautiful black boobs, as they filled my hands. The caressing grew in intensity, the emotions mixing with the sensations. Lust, desire, a yearning hunger.

Mom pulled me further into her bed, her hot body covering mine. She sat up and her hands slipped under my yoga pants, pulling them down. I shifted, allowing the stretchy fabric to slide past my quivering ass.

As she lay back on top of me, her leg pushed between mine, her hot pussy gripping my thighs. She wriggled and writhed, squeezing my thigh in a moist crush.

Her body moved as she ground down her knee pressing up between my legs. It crushed against my pussy. She moved it back and forth and I felt my lips open and her leg caressing my slippery slit.

In a swirling explosion of emotions lust took control. We writhed together like mating snakes. Our gasping panting breath quickening as our trembling quivering bodies gave over to the passion. Having masturbated many times, this was like nothing I had ever experienced. I cried, I panted gasping for breath as an orgasm so huge it was like being swallowed by a crushing Tsunami of sensation washed over me.

Mom erupted, as well, her eyes clamped shut, her face contorted in desire, she writhed bucked, jerked and bucked as she cried out in her own orgasm.

It was a monumental moment, an explosion of emotion, guilt, shame, and yes, pleasure.

We cuddled together. I wrapped my legs around her waist holding her in position between my legs and our mouths met again with the sweetest caressing kiss.

Sleep was like a comforting blanket descended over us.

During the night I felt Mom's fingers exploring my pussy. Her fingers working between my swollen lips. God damn. I was aroused and ashamed of my reaction.

I woke in the morning to wet sexy kisses which I returned with an unstoppable fervour. Desire overtook any misgivings. I loved Mom and this seemed right.

I left her sleeping and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. Eddie wandered out a while later. "Hey, Sis, what have you got planned for today?"

I shrugged non committedly. "Nothing, I will stay with Mom, keep her company. Write some thank you letters."

"I will go and clean out Dad's locker down at the Station. They need a family member to be present."

As we cleaned up, he held me in a giant hug. "Thanks for being here, Sis. I would be lost without you."

"Where else would I be? Somebody has to look after you."

"What about Uni? Can you get time off?"

"I will ring them today; see how long I can get. I mean, I can do some of it remotely, online."

"Cool, the longer you can stay the better."

After he left, I walked back into Mom's room. Grabbing her hand, I growled, "Come on Mom, you can't stay in here all day."

I physically dragged her into the bathroom and stripped her clothes off. Turning on the shower, I pushed her in. She stood under the steaming jets, unmoving.

Seeing her wet leaning against the wall, I stripped off and climbed in with her. I lathered up her hair and she grabbed me pulling me tight against her. Our mouths fitted like a carefully manufactured masterpiece. Soon, we were no longer washing, we were making love and the temperature soared as the passion erupted. As I dried her off, she groaned. "Baby doll, what am I going to do without you?"

"Mom, you will be all right. We are all overwhelmed at the moment. Things will come right. You will find yourself."

She peered into my eyes, her delicate petite body against me. "Chelsea, I love you so much. I am so glad you came into our lives. I don't say it enough. I love you."

"Mom, you say it all the time."

"No, no I don't. Thank you for being here, for being my strength."

"I will always be here for you, Mom, you know that."

She kissed me again, and this time the sensual feel of her lips drew me in. Our tongues swirled together and she pushed me back into the bedroom. Lust, passion desire burned wantonly and before I could stop it, I was on my back and Mom was between my legs, her tongue delving into my aching pussy. The orgasm was incredible, my whole body pulsed in time with her attack.

We rolled over and I sighed, "Wow, I don't know what to say."

She smiled as her hand stroked my flushed cheek. "Don't say anything."

I had to do something, I wanted to reciprocate, to give her the pleasure she gave me.

Starting at her toes I kissed my way up her glistening leg. Her calves, strong and athletic. Not an ounce of fat. I kept on my journey, up past her knees, her thighs. I admired the contrast, my white skin, flushed pink, grazing her black shiny flesh. I kept kissing higher and higher.

It was a shock as I arrived at the merger of her legs, the core of her womanly centre. Her pussy stared back at me, pink and inviting. Not really knowing what to do I let my tongue drag up her moist slit.

She writhed as she giggled. Her sexy voice teasing me.

I tried again and she sniggered. "Go slow, kiss, but don't tickle."

I lapped harder, letting my tongue push between her lips. "Oh, that's it... Yes, do that baby, do that."

Encouraged I let my tongue do the exploring. Deeper in it slid with every passing lap of my tongue. Soon, it was deep inside her. Remembering what she did to me, I probed in and out.

"Oh, fuck yes, Oooohhhhh that feels so good. Add a finger baby, but be gentle."

I slid my tongue out of her sweet gooey pussy. Her lips convulsing, holding my tongue as it slid out. My finger replaced my tongue. It felt weird to feel inside another woman. My fingers had dabbled many times inside my own, but to feel her clinging and squeezing my diddling digit felt empowering and powerful.