Say It Ain't So

by La Jill Hunt

  “Girl, you know Mack is crazy!” Seymone said.

  “Chill, Mack,” Python ordered him. Mack slowly put his hands to his side and everyone relaxed a bit. Python grinned at Paisley. “What’s up, gorgeous? How you doing?”

  Paisley gave him a big hug, wondering to herself how a man this fine, with so many women at his disposal, could be on the down low. “Hey, sweetie. I’m better.”

  “I just got back off tour a couple of hours ago. I heard what happened. That’s fucked up. You sure you’re a’ight?” Python gave her a concerned look. “Did you get my flowers? I texted you a million times and tried calling you.”

  “Yes, Python, I’m fine.” She nodded. “I got your flowers, but my phone got damaged in the accident, so it was out of commission for a while. I got a new one and it’s up and running. How you been, Mack? Has he been working you to death?”

  Mack grinned shyly at Paisley and shrugged. “You know how he is.”

  “Indeed, we partied hard and rocked the stage harder.” Python turned his attention to Seymone, walking over and sweeping her into his strong arms. “Girl, you know I been missing your fine ass!”

  Seymone squealed, “Python, put me down!”

  “You fall in love and get ghost on us! You know that ain’t right!” he teased her.

  Not wanting to seem rude, Paisley introduced Landon, who had been watching them. “Python, this is Landon, my security guard.”

  “What’s up.” Python extended his fist to Landon, who gave him a pound. “This is Mack, my right-hand man. I’m glad you’re with my girl. I been telling her a long time that she needed to get some firepower watching her back. She always acted like it was no big deal. I’m glad you finally decided to get some sense.”

  “It’s not my choice, believe me.” Paisley rolled her eyes at Landon.

  “Well, thank whoever chose to hire him,” Python said, then he looked at Landon. “Good luck, bro. She’s more than a handful. I hope you can handle her.”

  “I think I got her covered,” Landon replied.

  “Well, I gotta get outta here. I just wanted to come by and see you. Call me, ma,” Python said. Paisley and Seymone gave both him and Mack hugs.

  “You think you can get in the car and we can leave now?” Landon asked when Python was gone. Paisley rolled her eyes at him and returned to her truck.

  “All set?” Seymone asked.

  “Yeah, let’s go.” Paisley climbed into the passenger side of her truck.

  “What’s your problem?” Seymone asked, pulling on her seatbelt and turning on the ignition.

  “I don’t like him,” Paisley said. “He’s a jerk.”

  “You don’t know him well enough not to like him,” Seymone said, pulling off.

  “I know that he doesn’t like me, either. And I know that there’s something about him that puts me on edge. How can I be around him twenty-four, seven when I don’t even feel comfortable? This isn’t gonna work.”

  “Paisley, he’s not here to be your friend. He’s here to protect you and make sure you’re safe. You’re his job. You don’t have to like each other.” Seymone laughed.

  “I’m glad this is so amusing to you,” Paisley said. “How the hell is he gonna guard me when he doesn’t like me? That’s more reason for him to let something happen to me.”

  “You are so conceited, you know that?” Seymone glanced over at her and shook her head.

  “Where the hell did that come from?”

  “I’m just saying, you’re so used to guys falling all over you, and Landon didn’t, so you naturally assume he doesn’t like you. To me, that just shows that you’re conceited. Everything has to be about you.” Seymone sighed.

  “You don’t understand.” Paisley reached over and turned the radio on. She glanced in the side mirror and spotted Landon’s car behind them. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.

  A sleek, black Mercedes Kompressor was sitting in Paisley’s driveway when they pulled up. Seymone parked right beside the car and Landon pulled behind her. The door of the Mercedes opened and Chester stepped out.

  “Oh my God! I’ve been sitting here forever,” he yelled when they were out of the truck. “I told you I was gonna be here at six o’clock. You’re late.”

  Paisley shook her head. “It’s only six-twenty. Calm down.”

  “We forgot you were coming, Chester. My bad.” Seymone walked over and gave him a hug, and he kissed both her cheeks in his dramatic fashion.

  “What is her problem? I am not in the mood to be dealing with an attitude.” Chester rolled his eyes at Paisley. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Paisley, hold up,” Landon yelled.

  “Oh my, who is that?” Chester asked, looking at Landon.

  “That is who is causing that attitude,” Seymone told him. “That’s Paisley’s new security guard, Landon.”

  “He is fine,” Chester hissed. “Reminds me of a clean-cut Method Man. Sexy.”

  “That’s who he looks like. I was trying to figure out who it was.” Seymone snapped her fingers. “Method Man!”

  “How you doing?” Chester grinned as Landon walked up.

  “Sup.” Landon nodded. He seemed to be caught a little off guard by Chester.

  “Landon, this is my cousin, Chester,” Paisley introduced him.

  “Nice to meet you,” Landon said, trying not to stare at Chester’s bright orange hair.

  “Believe me, the pleasure’s all mine,” Chester replied.

  “Can we go in now?” Paisley asked.

  “You said you have a security system?” Landon asked as they walked toward the front door.

  “Yeah,” Paisley answered.

  “You have your house key?”

  “Seymone has it.”

  Seymone held out Paisley’s house key on the ring and he took it. “I’ll unlock the door and make sure it’s all clear. What’s the code to the alarm?”

  “What? You want me to just give you my security code?” Paisley looked at him like he was crazy.

  “Yeah, I do,” he answered. “I need to cut the alarm off when I get in, right?”

  “Yes, but . . .”

  “Pais, he is your security,” Seymone told her.

  “Yes, he is.” Chester winked at her.

  “Fine.” Paisley rolled her eyes. “Five-two-seven-eight.”

  “Hey, that’s our birthday,” Chester commented.

  “I know.” Paisley faked a smile.

  They waited while Landon unlocked the door and went inside. A few moments later, he returned and told them it was okay for them to come in.

  “I gotta go let my dog out,” Paisley said as she headed toward the laundry room. “Killa! Where are you? Killllaaaa!”

  “Hold on,” Landon told her. “Whoa! Killa?”

  In a flash, he was headed toward the door.

  “Landon, wait!” Seymone called after him.

  Paisley opened the laundry room door and the five-pound dog came running out. He ran straight to Landon and began barking. Paisley began laughing so hard that she almost peed on herself. Seymone and Chester were nearly in tears.

  “Okay, you got me.” Landon smiled, bending down and rubbing the dog’s head. “Killa?”

  “That’s right,” Paisley told him.

  “She needed to name him Pissa or better yet, Shi—” Seymone commented.

  “Leave my dog alone,” Paisley said before she could finish. “Come on, Killa. You wanna go outside?”

  Later that night, Scooter called. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, just getting out of the tub.” Paisley wrapped a large bath towel around her body. She walked into her bedroom and made sure the door was locked.

  “My meeting ran late, but I still wanted to come by and check on you,” he sighed.

  “You don’t have to. It’s been a long day and I’m going to bed after I check my e-mail.” She grabbed a bottle of Johnson’s baby lotion from the dresser and clumsily put some in the palm of her right hand.
She rubbed it on her body the best she could, trying to maneuver with one hand. I gotta get a pedicure tomorrow, she thought, looking at her feet.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. Chester hung out over here for a while. He just left.”

  “That’s cool. Where’s your bodyguard?”

  “He’s in his room, I guess.” She grabbed the tank top and shorts she slept in from her bed and slipped them on. Landon now occupied the large bedroom over the garage, right down the hallway from hers. It was close enough that he could get to her if needed, but far enough away that they had their own privacy.

  His room; that sounds so weird. Not only do I have a bodyguard, but he has his own room in my house. If he thinks he’s really living here for six months, he’s crazy. This is only until they catch that fool who’s stalking me.

  “You know I had no problem staying there and guarding your body,”

  “I bet you didn’t.” She was too preoccupied to even think and hoped he wasn’t about to talk about their being together. Reaching for the remote, she clicked the TV on and went to get her laptop bag from where she usually set it on the side of the bed, but it wasn’t there. Where is my computer? she asked herself, trying to remember where she had it last.

  “Where’s the rat?” Scooter asked.

  Paisley looked around and realized that she hadn’t seen or heard Killa since she had gotten out of the tub; which was unusual because he rarely left the room unless she did.

  “I don’t know. Look, let me call you back,” she told him.

  “Is everything okay?” Scooter asked. “You sure you don’t want me to come through?”

  “I’m all right,” she said, now looking around the room for the dog and her computer bag. “I just gotta figure out where I put my laptop.”

  “A’ight.” Scooter seemed disappointed.

  Paisley walked down the hall and heard Seymone’s voice singing in the bathroom across the hall from her room. She knocked on the door and called out, “Seymone, is Killa in there with you?”

  “But each time I try, I just break down and cry,” Seymone sang, “cuz I’d rather be home feeling blluuuuueeeeeee.”

  Paisley knocked on the door again, “Seymone!”

  “What? Hold up a sec.” A few seconds later, Seymone cracked the door open, naked with the exception of the shower cap on her head. Steam poured from the bathroom. “What?”

  “I can’t find Killa. Is he in there with you?” Paisley asked.

  Seymone looked at Paisley like she was crazy. “No you didn’t call me out of the shower to ask me that. Hell no.”

  “I can’t find him.” Paisley frowned.

  “Good, and he better stay where he is because he pissed in my room again!” Seymone started to close the door.

  “Wait!” Paisley stopped her.

  “What, Pais? It’s cold.” Seymone bounced up and down, shivering from the water dripping on her body.

  “Have you seen my laptop? It’s not in my room either.”

  “Naw, I haven’t seen it,” Seymone told her. “I don’t think you took it to the studio this morning, either.”

  “A’ight.” Paisley sighed.

  Seymone closed the door and Paisley cringed as she resumed singing, “We’ll be making love the whole night through, cuz I’m saving all my love for yooooooouuuuu.”

  Paisley stood at the top of the stairs, and called out, “Killaaaaa, here Killa, Killa!”

  She waited for him to come running, but he didn’t. She went downstairs and searched in the kitchen, living room, and utility room, but he wasn’t there. She walked into the den, and gasped when she saw that the sliding door leading to the backyard was slightly open. Her heart began pounding. Her first thoughts were that her stalker had gotten inside, killed her dog, and was waiting in a closet, wearing a hockey mask, with a butcher knife in one hand and a hacksaw in the other. Oh God, he’s in here somewhere, probably watching me right now. There’s no way I’m gonna die with my feet needing a pedicure and my weave needing to be redone. I ain’t going down without a fight. Paisley went into the kitchen and quietly opened a drawer, pulling out the biggest knife she could find. She grabbed the cordless phone from the wall and was about to dial 911 when she heard a dog barking. Knife in hand, she walked into the den. She wielded the knife as the sliding glass door opened wider, and she prepared to slice up the intruder. Within seconds, Killa came running past her. Oh God, he’s really out there. Her grip on the knife tightened.

  “Ahh!” she screamed when a shadow figure stepped inside.

  “What the . . .” Landon jumped when he saw her standing in the middle of the floor.

  “Jesus,” was her only response as she realized it was him and dropped her arms to her sides. She was breathing so hard that she could see her chest rising and falling.

  “What are you doing and why do you have a knife?” He stared at the sharp blade she was holding.

  “I thought someone had broken in,” she told him. “The door was open . . . and I kept calling Killa . . . and I didn’t know where he was . . .”

  “I took him out to go pee. He was about to take a squat in my room,” Landon told her.

  My room. The words echoed in her head as he said it. He’s really living here, that’s crazy.

  “Oh, sorry.” She shrugged. She watched as his eyes fell to her feet, and she put one foot on top of the other in an effort to hide the chipped polish on her toes. “Uh, have you seen my laptop?”

  “Huh?” He frowned.

  “I can’t find my laptop. I was wondering if you may have seen it lying around,” she said, twisting her arm, which was now itching in the cast. She looked down at the knife, and before she thought about it she was sliding it into the irritating cast, trying to scratch.

  “Stop it!” Landon eased the knife out and took it from her. “Are you crazy! What if you woulda nicked your vein?”

  “It itches, okay? And the Doctor says I have to wear it for three more weeks. You betta be glad I ain’t using the electric knife to take it off!” she told him.

  Landon shook his head at her. “You really are crazy. No, I haven’t seen your laptop. Do you mind if I hang out down here for a while and watch TV?”

  “No, that’s cool. Come on, Killa!” Paisley called the dog. He came running beside her. She looked at Landon. “Thanks for taking him out. I know that’s not part of your job description.”

  “Yeah.” He shook his head again. The two stood staring at the dog, neither one saying a word until he finally asked, “You need some help going up the stairs?”

  “No, I got it,” she told him.

  “Your legs look pretty banged up.” He pointed to her thighs, which were still covered with bruises in various shades of purple and blue.

  Paisley looked down, now feeling uncomfortable. She had been so self-conscious about her feet, that she forgot that her legs were visible in the shorts she wore. “I forgot you could see it. My bad.”

  “You sure?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, I got it,” she said, and walked out. Hmm, maybe he’s not so bad after all. Maybe I judged him too soon. Just as she made it up the steps, she heard his cell phone ringing.

  “What’s up,” she heard him answer. “Yeah, I’m here. The house is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

  Stop being nosy, she tried to tell herself, that’s that man’s personal phone call and you don’t need to hear it. Why? He’s talking about my house, so that makes it my business. Her curiosity got the best of her and she continued eavesdropping.

  “No, it’s her and her best friend, Seymone Davis. Yeah, I’m serious. Both of them live here. Man, stop, you know ain’t nothing like that even jumping off. Naw, no orgies. Naw, none of that, either. Man, come on, I only been here a day, but no, she ain’t seduced nobody since I been here and I haven’t met anyone famous. This wild cat named Chester came over tonight. He was a little over the top, but he was cool. I guess she’s a’ight, but Seymone is really nice.
No, she owns this dance studio where she teaches other chicks how to striptease and pole dance. I swear. It’s totally disrespectful.”

  Paisley could feel her anger building as she continued listening.

  “What do you mean? How am I tripping? I don’t agree with it at all. I think this would’ve been more a job for you, not me. You know the changes I’ve made in my life and I don’t feel comfortable being around this. It’s immoral. I know, I know. You’re right. Naw, I’ma do my job and I’ma make sure nothing happens to her. Regardless of what she does and how I feel about it, her life is my responsibility and I’m gonna make sure she’s safe. Yeah, I agree.”

  Paisley was so angry that she could feel tears building up. How dare he talk about her like she was a common whore on the street? What I do is not disrespectful; it’s a support haven for women. I hate him.

  “No, I haven’t talked to her. I thought about calling her and then I figured what’s the point. I don’t even know how I’m even feeling about that right now. Yeah, I got you. Cool, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Naw, I ain’t taking no pictures with my cell and sending ’em to you. You’re a fool, boy! Peace.”

  Paisley returned to her room and closed the door. She climbed into bed and released the tears she had been holding in. Hearing Landon say those things about her reminded her of her mother, and the way she made Paisley feel. She was used to people talking about her; it was a major part of her life. But there were times like this, when the reality of what was said, true or not, hit home and made her realize that even with all she had accomplished in her life, the fame and fortune she had gained, she would always be judged on what she did rather than who she was as a person.

  Landon

  A’ight God, I know this is a test, right? It’s gotta be. I was living foul, doing my dirt, headed straight to hell with gasoline drawers on and then I changed my life. You wanted me on the straight and narrow; I got on the straight and narrow. You wanted me to stop drinking and smoking, I did. You wanted me to stop gambling, I did. All the bad things in life that I enjoyed the most, that made me the man I was at the time, that I knew were wrong, but I did them anyway because they brought me so much pleasure. I gave all of that up because you told me, you assured me, you promised me that none of those things would bring me the pleasure I would find if I turned my life over to you. And I did, God, I did. You told me to stop strong-arming for the dope dealers, loan sharks, and kingpins and be a warrior for you.