The Cardinal Bird (1 of Cardinal Series)

Chapter 10

I thought there would be more pain, but all I remembered was staring up at the sky. I felt the gravel underneath my jacket, biting into the bare skin of my thighs. I blinked slowly, trying to focus. Brandon, or I'm assuming, was above me. It was hard to tell what his expression was because his face was still a bit blurry, but I definitely recognized the short-cropped blonde hair as the soft sunlight made it glow, even if it was on two separate heads opposite each other. I was seeing double.

I tried to sit up, wanting to slow the spinning vertigo but only making it worse.

"Whoa, slow down there," Brandon said, in a surprisingly light tone. A palm gently pressed against my chest bone, and I didn't fight it. I plopped back down.

My mind was unsettled a bit because I realized that I had somehow fallen on the ground without actually remembering doing it. My immediate reaction was to frown, but doing so caused a sharp pang in my forehead. I raised my hand, intending to figure out what the damage was, but another large hand caged my wrist and brought it back down. He didn't let me go when he had it settled back at my side.

I focused on breathing through my still sore throat. "Ow," I whispered.

"I am so, so sorry," Brandon babbled. Weird. He had seemed so cool and aloof before. Did he really feel that guilty? What for?

I blinked again trying to clear my vision. Nope, there was still two Brandons. Just what exactly was that door made of? Reinforced tungsten? Perhaps vibranium?? I could pull that door off and be the next Captain America.

"Are you okay?" Brandon's voice was much calmer now. "You're not supposed to introduce your face to the door like that, you know."

I closed my eyes, so I didn't see the hit, but I heard a thud followed by a grunt. Had Brandon just hit himself?

"Please," I said with my eyes closed as my head lolled on the ground. "Don't ask me how many fingers you're holding up."

"What? Why?" There was that weird stereo sound again, like the same voice was coming from different places. It was extremely disconcerting.

The hand that had been on my sternum slowly shifted up to wrap around my shoulder while the other one continued to hold my hand.

"W-what? Is she bleeding?"

I frowned, flinching just slightly at the pang it caused. "You knew that. That's why we were coming out here."

I heard a weird breathy sound that made me open my eyes. My vision wasn't so blurry now, but I was definitely becoming increasingly concerned with the double vision. A hand lifted to brush at my hair in a comforting motion. It helped me relax, easing the tension in my forehead. If it was physically possible, I would probably be purring right now. I settled down, snuggling into the rocks beneath and not minding one bit.

And then, I stiffened. My eyes flew open as my mind started counting. Numbers were sort of a thing for me.

One. Hand wrapped around my shoulder.

Two. Hand clasping my own, fingers wrapped around all the way to my wrist.

Three. Hand petting my hair.

Three hands.

I shot up. Pushing between two bodies. "Nope. No way. Not happening. I can handle double vision, but I draw the line at physical hallucinations."

Minus the slight dizziness and pang in my side, I didn't have much trouble getting to my feet. Somehow, the sharp press of the rocks onto my soles as I put all my body weight onto a smaller surface area helped me focus. I turned around.