I watched with apprehension as Mrs. Winspere approached Nicolette, her eyes glistening once again. "Nikki, oh my dear, I wish I had good news, but your father and I are at a loss. Your tests results are beyond us. We have come up with a way to stabilize your remaining cells and make them harder to die, but, they will die my dear.
We shouldn't give up hope though. Your dad had a brilliant idea! There is a doctor who specializes in rare genetic diseases. She is the best of the best. He called her just a bit ago hoping to talk her into seeing you. Unfortunately, she is retired and can no longer do house calls.
You will have to go to her, and it has to be at night. She suffers from a rare disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosa. It doesn't allow her to go out during the day."
Everything Mrs. Winspere said sounded reasonable. There was just one problem: the glint of unnatural glee deep in her eyes. I had a feeling that wherever she was sending Nikki it wasn't to some reclusive doctor but somewhere far more dangerous.
"Okay. How soon can I see her?" Before I could voice my concerns, Nikki was nodding in agreement with her mom. Grinding my teeth to stop from blowing up I pasted a smile on my face and hugged Nikki in celebration just as her mother came over with a
relieved look on her face.
"This is for the best Nicolette. The serum that we developed, we can't say how long it will last and don't want to give you any false hope. Dr. Wilson is the best person for the job…" I rolled my eyes, Nikki had already agreed there was no reason for her to pour on the 'I care so much' motherly act.
I paid close attention to her next words waiting for her to attempt to separate us but to my relief she didn't. Instead she gave Nikki a case of the serum she and her husband had developed. They called us a cab and packed us in and told us to wait for them to be in touch. I felt as though we were escaping the lion's den.
We barely got in the cab before I started to share my concerns about her parents' behavior. I watched her face closely and knew that I wasn't reaching her. This was all she had ever wanted; her parents'
attention and love. There was nothing I could really say at this moment to convince her that her decision to go anywhere with them, especially at night, was terrible.
Nikki was practically glowing so with a heavy sigh I stopped talking. I knew that if I pushed her too much I would come off as the bitter women who was trying to come between a happy family reconciliation.
Fear slithered up my back as we walked into the hotel. Someone was watching us and I could sense the hostility in the stare. I turned to ask Nikki if she felt it but she still had a happy, senseless, look on her face. Something told me that we were much deeper in the lion's den than I thought and we were only seconds away from being eaten.