Persona - A Disturbing Psychological Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

unpredictability. And the lust for him. He knew she had potential. She’d just take a little time. ‘That’s pretty harsh, Stacey,’ he said. ‘You don’t know it all. You can criticise me all you want, but you should realise that we’ve got a lot more in common than you think.’
    She didn’t want to go down that path. ‘I don’t know if I should take that as an insult.’
    Col reached across the table and when he placed his hand on hers a surge of warmth shot through her body. She worried that he would hear her heartbeat.
    ‘Stacey,’ he began softly, ‘who are you trying to kid?’ He smiled warmly. ‘You don’t want to change me, and you can’t fool me into thinking that you’d be happy if you did. We both know that you’re here tonight because I’m unbalanced and that turns you on...because you like risk.’
    Too much to process. A sudden mental block prevented her from thinking clearly. He was staring at her - she had to say something. She laughed. ‘You really are unique,’ she said. ‘I’ve never known anyone like you.’ Her muscles tensed in frustration - that was not what she wanted to say. She needed time. She was in danger of losing her strategy.
    ‘Yeah, and now I’m here, you know what’s been missing in your life.’
    ‘Yes I realise now, my knight in shining armour has finally arrived.’ She smiled sarcastically at him. ‘I’m just going to the Ladies.’
    ‘Okay.’
    She pushed herself from her seat and walked to the toilet. Once inside she locked herself in a cubicle, closed the lid and sat on top. Her head ached. She focused on trying to relax. She looked up at the door. This was not going to be as easy as she’d thought. Col was supposed to fall to pieces when she confronted him. After all, he was enamoured with her and wanted to give her a favourable impression. But he was so stubborn and his façade was much stronger than she’d expected it to be... But all that really meant was that she had more of a challenge to face. If she failed, it was her fault, not his. She knew there was a wonderful guy in there, buried deep by the scars and wounds inflicted by an uncaring society. She would bring him out. She was a strong and determined woman. She had a duty to him. In return he would be the man of her dreams, forever devoted to her. Back to the present , she urged herself. She had to tackle difficult barriers - he’d convinced himself that she was here because she liked him for whom he purported to be and that she found his flaws appealing. He believed she didn’t want him to change. This was a self-preservation thing she should have anticipated. She cursed herself for thinking she could mould him into a gentleman so easily. Then she laughed to herself. Come on Stacey, nothing’s ever been easy for you. You’ve always had to work for everything . She felt that the reward here could be worth far more than anything before. She stood up, opened the door, and after checking her appearance in the mirror, rejoined Col.
    As soon as she sat back down, he spoke. ‘I’ve been thinking. Maybe I’m not a knight in shining armour. But before you get on your high horse, understand that you socialising with me because I’m different says something about your personality as well.’
    She stared at him blankly for a moment. ‘Maybe I hoped you might be a nice bloke when you were sober.’
    ‘You’ve just said that you knew I was unbalanced, but you still came here. Why don’t you just be straight with me, like I am with you.’
    Stacey sipped her drink, feeling uneasy. She couldn’t be straight with him, not yet. He wouldn’t be able to handle it.
    He stretched his arms out on top of his chair. ‘So where did you meet Fay?’ he asked.
    ‘At school. We were at college together too.’
    ‘Did you get a good education?’
    ‘I did,’ she smiled. ‘What have you done?’
    ‘A lot of nothing really. Well, I say that, but everythingI’ve done has been for a purpose and that was