a few hours ago

Entering Nancy's penthouse always took Emma's breaths away. It reminded her just how different they were. For a moment, when she'd found herself homeless, Emma had considered asking Nancy to let her crash at her place for some time – there definitely was enough room. However, they didn't have that kind of friendship. It wasn't rare that Nancy would – deliberately or not – make it clear that they came from entirely different places.

The high ceiling, the enormous glass windows, the fancy furniture: all of that was enough to remind Emma that it was absurd that they even talked to each other.

Of course, Nancy didn't know just how hard she'd hit rock bottom, her friend had never even been to her apartment. But there was no mistaking it, they were polar opposites, not just in characters, but also when it came to background, education, wealth and even social status.

The latter was underlined by Nancy's friends. As soon as Emma entered, she found them there, dressed in silk pajamas and expensive robes, wearing pieces of jewelry that were worth way more that she could make in a year.

"Hey, girls! Look who joined us!" Nancy introduced loudly, pushing Emma into the living room.

"Hi ..." The girl murmured, immediately feeling ashamed of her cheap attire.

"Emma!" A brunette greeted cheerfully, jumping up to go hug her, despite the margarita in her hand. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah, uh ... sorry." She cracked a small smile, awkwardly accepting the hug.

"Emma has been busy hunting for a job." Nancy explained, her smile unfaltering. "Not very successfully."

"No? How come?" A blonde asked from the large sofa, nodding to the host when she refilled her glass of margarita.

"Lack of qualifications, what else?" A second brunette rolled her eyes, then took a sip of her drink. "You should take Nancy's advice, Emma. Escorts really do make a lot more than you'd think."

The girl sighed inaudibly. "I'll think about it." She mumbled. Why was she here, again? What could possibly compel her to be in the presence of Nancy's haughty friends? The only tolerable one was Lindsay, the brunette that was still standing beside her, seemingly happy to see her. She was the only one in that small group that didn't judge her for being so different.

"Maybe a marriage would be easier." Caroline – the blonde – mused, sipping her drink. "You're ..." She looked Emma up and down for a moment, then curled her lips, "decent. I'm sure you can find some rich old man. Do we know anyone available, Nance?"

"Daniel Larkin is still single." Cordelia – the second brunette – laughed.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Daniel is a dick."

"Yeah, but he's a rich dick." Cordelia countered. "Even more since his father died."

Emma pursed her lips. Of all the possible bachelors in New York, they had to start talking about her ex? There was no chance she would even give a single hint about their past together. She was actually surprised he hadn't tried to contact her after that interview.

"Michael saw him the other day," Lindsay mentioned, going to sit on the sofa as well, "they talked a bit." She took a sip of her drink. "Daniel is still single, yes, but he's also still head over heels for his ex."

"So what?" Cordelia laughed. "That's never stopped anyone, certainly not me." She winked.

"Oh, we know, we know ..." Caroline snarked, sneering as she eyed her friend from above her glass of margarita.

"Do we know who's this ex?" Nancy inquired as she poured herself a drink.

Emma swallowed hard, afraid her secrets might catch up with her. From finding out that she and Daniel had been together, to uncovering her criminal past, it didn't take much. The last thing she needed was to give Caroline and Cordelia more ammo.

"Only that she's not one of us." Cordelia mentioned haughtily. "Some country girl he met on a summer, something like that." She rolled her eyes.

"They met on a summer and he's still hung up on her?" Cordelia commented in disbelief. "She must be one hell of a tigress in the sheets." She laughed, and the others followed.

"Are you okay, Emma? You look pale." Lindsay wondered, eyeing her closely after she'd refused a drink.

"Yeah, I ... just tired." The girl cracked a small smile. "I ... I'll go change," she mentioned, showing her sleepover bag. Upon leaving, she could hear the other women talking about her: most were snarky comments from Cordelia and Caroline, while Lindsay tried to say something positive. Nancy didn't utter a word, which didn't surprise Emma, but it did disappoint her.

Once in the bathroom, she locked the door, and fell back against it, heaving a deep sigh. Barely five minutes into the slumber party and she was already the center of attention. Normally, they would talk about her life for a bit, then quickly move to their own interests, forgetting about her, but tonight she seemed to be the primary topic of discussion. Did they know something? Had Daniel mentioned her name to Lindsay's brother – Michael?

In other circumstances, she would have made up an excuse to leave, but not tonight. She needed to stay until the end and then talk to Nancy. No backing out. Only after she'd come clean about her misdeeds would she be able to start over. Hence, after having changed into a pair of black and white flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt, Emma took a deep breath. Soon enough the girls would be too drunk to mind her, and she'd be safe.

When she went back to the living room, in fact, she found them sipping on more drinks. Lindsay grinned, patting beside her. The others were busy talking about their respective careers: Nancy wasn't the only lawyer in the room, Cordelia had followed the same path, focusing on divorce law; Caroline was a surgeon.

Lindsay was the only one that had changed paths a few times, never focusing on something specific: right now, her main concern was organizing the perfect wedding for her brother, which had convinced her that she would be a great wedding planner – something her friends found ludicrous.

"So, Emma, what are your plans?" Caroline asked right off the bat when the girl sat down beside Lindsay.

"Uh ... I'm looking for a job."

"Yes, but what kind of job? I know a few families that need a housekeeper. Do you have any experience with that?" The blonde went on, barely hiding her contempt.

"Nance, didn't your Alex say his housekeeper quit?" Cordelia pitched in. "Maybe Emma can help."

"But Emma doesn't like him, does she?" Caroline mused, eyeing the girl.

"I'm sure Emma can aim higher than housekeeping." Lindsay tried to mend, offering a warm smile. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, but-"

"Of course not." The blonde smirked. "But without as little as a high school diploma, there aren't many chances, and our Emma here is too proud."

"I'm not ..." she mumbled, "I just respect myself enough not to fall into that trap." Again, she told herself.

"Escort services are actually pretty classy nowadays," Caroline went on, sipping another drink, "most girls just accompany gross old men to events."

Emma sighed inaudibly. Maybe she was paranoid, but it looked like tonight Caroline had it out for her. Not that they'd ever seen eye to eye, but the young surgeon seemed set on humiliating her this time. Nancy, on the other hand, was weirdly quiet. Emma couldn't help but feel she was missing something. Something that would soon blow up in her face.

Luckily, Cordelia soon changed subject, wanting to talk about her imminent wedding. Soon enough, however, Emma restarted feeling uneasy, because of one simple question: "What about Alexander, Nance?"

Nancy offered her friends a tight smile. "What about him?"

Caroline laughed. "Has he proposed yet?" She eyed Emma. "He seems so taken, you'd think he couldn't wait to call you wifey."

"I know right?" Cordelia agreed, grinning. "I always tell my babes that we should aspire to be like Nance and her Alex. They're perfect for each other."

Emma squirmed in her seat, feeling nauseous. She couldn't shake off the feeling that these talks had a specific goal and she was at the center of it. The horrible thought crossed her mind more than once throughout the evening: did they know? Did Nancy know?

Her friend was quieter than usual, she'd brushed off the question about the proposal and was letting Caroline lead the show, with Cordelia as support. Emma wondered whether she was only being paranoid – maybe Nancy didn't feel too well? Or maybe Alexander had talked to his girlfriend, told her something. No ... he couldn't be so crazy. Or could he?

Emma slyly grabbed her phone, wanting to text him, ask if he'd been so foolish, but before she could, once again attention focused on her: "What about you, Emma? Are you seeing anyone?" Caroline's sharp tone didn't give away anything other than the usual sour disdain the surgeon had always shown her.

"Uh ... no, I ... I don't have time for relationships right now."

"No?" Cordelia laughed. "We all have a career yet we have time. What makes you so busy?"

"Searching for a job takes away a lot of time." Lindsay interjected, eyeing Emma. "I'm single, too." She said, offering the other a sympathetic smile.

"You're a different case, Lindsay," Caroline sneered.

Emma wasn't sure what that meant, but she was certain it was an insult of some sort, in fact Lindsay's smile faded and she withdrew within herself. How was she friends with these women if all they did was belittle her?

"I'm sure you have a fuck buddy, at the very least." Cordelia mentioned, addressing Emma. "Sex is like a good margarita," she said, raising her glass so that Nancy could refill it, "never enough."

"Emma is too conservative for that," Nancy mused, sending her a side glance, "she spent a whole evening at home alone with my Alex yet nothing happened. That says a lot. Right, Emma?"

The girl squirmed in her seat, swallowing hard. Yep, Nancy definitely knew. How could he be so stupid? How could he go and spill the beans like that after having lied to his girlfriend for 2 months?

"Really, Emma?" Caroline sneered. "Nothing? I mean, no offense, Nance, but given the chance, I'd jump your Alex." She licked her lips, as if savoring the moment, and Emma felt sick. "I've always had a thing for bad boys."

"Oh, yeah, he's an incredible lover." Nancy said. "Right, Emma?"

"I ..." her breaths hitched, "I ... I don't ..."

"I mean, one with your experience should be a good judge, don't you think?"

"What ..."

"I'll admit the lost kitten act is believable," Nancy laughed, "you wouldn't think she's a whore." Caroline and Cordelia sneered with her, while Lindsay gasped. Nancy walked to the TV, and pressed play.

Emma watched in horror as the familiar video played on the giant screen. How did she find out? The girls were all focused on the TV, where a young Emma was clearly recognizable. The guy that was with her had been careful not to show his face, she'd almost forgotten how much of her was visible, how exposed she was. To think that, at the time, she'd thought it was a nice idea, something between just the two of them.

"I know what you're thinking," Nancy said, "but it really wasn't hard to find. It's pretty much everywhere. Internet doesn't let anything die, Emma. You honestly thought you could run away?"

"Why ..." she murmured, her breaths hitching, "why ... why did you ..."

"An eye for an eye." Caroline laughed wickedly. "You honestly thought you'd get away with it? Actually, Nance is even too kind, I'd have fried your ass if I caught you with my boyfriend. I told her to repost the tape and add your full name, but she refused." She shrugged. "I would have let Internet do its job and devour you, bit by bit."

"I ..." Emma stood, frantic, "Nancy, I ... I'm sorry," tears welled in her eyes, "I was stupid, it's ..."

"Oh, come on, spare me," the other laughed. "I guess once a whore, always a whore." Nancy turned to Caroline. "She fakes innocence, being an escort would hurt her dignity, boo-hoo," both snickered, "but she was nothing more than a hooker back in the day."

"So, no to rich old men but yes to fucking a stranger in a car for a couple hundred bucks?" Cordelia interjected, amused. "You need to sort out your priorities, Emma."

"I know right?" Caroline's laughter sounded booming. "You'd think that she'd prefer to be a trophy wife or even only a mistress. I mean, you already are a hoe, why not get paid for it?"

"That's not nice to say ..." Lindsay argued weakly, but nobody listened.

"You know," Nancy continued, "Daniel said she was easy, he didn't even need to buy her gifts. A nice word here and there did the trick."

While the women – except Lindsay, as always – laughed at her expenses, continuing with their spiteful remarks, like relentless predators weakening their prey before devouring it, Emma made herself smaller and smaller. She didn't know how to react to those hideous comments – she wasn't even sure she had a right to, since she was indeed guilty of betraying Nancy. Maybe she deserved it. Maybe she deserved everything they would throw at her.