[ WP ] In a world where lying is immediately detected by a phone app , you go into a bar and tell your friends you 've had the worst day in the history of mankind . The app detects you 're telling the truth . You proceed to tell them about your day ...

I open the pub door. Smells of beer, pub food, and warm bodies hit me. I step over the threshold. I become aware of the petite woman with too-dark makeup laughing. She ’ s leaning on the chest of a man who could grace the cover of a muscle-mag. I force myself to look past them. This couple ’ s holding hands, frilly drinks forgotten. The brunette with the long hair brings the hand of the short-haired woman to her lips, kisses each finger while staring into the other woman ’ s eyes. On my left, a man with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles wheels his chair towards a table, grinning as he greets the attractive redhead waiting there. She blows him a kiss and puts down her phone. 
 
 
 I wind my way through the tables, looking for Heidi ’ s tumble of blond curls. There, with Chace by her side. I must have really freaked her out. She waves at me as I pass the last few blissfully unaware patrons. 
 
 
 “ Heidi said you claimed you had the worst day ever, and that our app didn ’ t work. ” Chace ’ s head tilts forward and his eyes are almost black. The last time I saw that look, it was right before he threw my ex-boyfriend out the door. I ’ d been right to call Chace and Heidi over that night. The ex had broken in, threatened to kill me. And after the last few weeks, Chace ’ s hostility is understandable. 
 
 
 “ Hi Chace. ” I swallow. “ I understand your … response. ” I pull out a chair, sit down. I shiver in my coat. I meet his eyes, see them narrow. 
 
 
 “ You ’ re ghost white, Laurel. This has gotten to the point of crazy. I ’ m seriously considering calling the mental health crisis line. ” Heidi slides her delicate hand onto his forearm. 
 
 
 I fold my hands on the table in front of me. Strong hands. That ’ s what Heidi ’ s mother had said. I shudder and grimace, clinch my hands into fists. I force out “ I ’ m not surprised. I ’ ve considered calling them myself. ” As Heidi leans over the table, I realize I'd whispered. 
 
 
 Heidi wraps my fists in her hands. I flinch. She ’ s in mother-mode. “ Have the dreams gotten worse? Last month, it was Pompeii. And then last week, the first world war. ” She moves next to me, wraps her arm around me. 
 
 
 I hunch away from her. “ You- you don ’ t want to be close to me. ” 
 
 
 Heidi puts one hand on my shoulder, keeps the other on my hands. “ Nonsense. You ’ ll talk about your day, whatever this worst day in your life is, and we ’ ll have some drinks. We ’ ll move past it same way we did when Chace tossed The Creep out. ” 
 
 
 The truth alarm from her phone silences the conversations throughout the pub. Chace fumbles with her phone to clear it. 
 
 
 I close my eyes. “ We won ’ t ever forget this, Heidi. ” I look at her. The confusion and shock distort her normally peaceful face. I ’ ve always been troubled, and her face typically calms me. I ’ d never see that calm again. 
 
 
 “ I dreamt of Hitler, the peace of the early 21st century. ” I finally break. I cover my face with my horrible, strong hands. I smear my eyeliner as I try to regain my composure. I desperately look from Heidi to Chace. He meets my eyes, holds my gaze. I know he ’ ll figure it out. 
 
 
 I force myself to look at Heidi. “ Heidi, I ’ m sorry. I… ” I take a deep breath. “ I saw your great-grandparents. And then your parents. That ’ s when -- that ’ s when I started to figure it out. ” 
 
 
 “ No, no. You never met them. ” Tears stream down her face as the horror of her parent ’ s death floods back. “ You never met them! ” She stands as she yells, knocking over her chair. The pub goes quiet again. 
 
 
 I manage to whisper, “ I saw their pictures in your house. I… I ’ ve seen other things. Heidi, I saw Napoleon killed. I saw the Moradabad riots, the Rwandan genocide… ” 
 
 
 I helplessly look at Chace. He holds Heidi ’ s phone, ready to quiet the alarm. His voice helps ground me. “ Today you realized you ’ re seeing the pain of humanity. Every time you sleep. ” 
 
 
 I nod. 
 
 
 The alarm never sounds. 
 
 
 I force myself to form the words, to verbalize the fear. “ What happens after I see today? ” 

