The low, soft rumble of his voice seemed to be one of the few sounds she could bear to hear. She felt each word, each sound, move through her like the roll of a wave. Her eyes remained closed against the light in the lobby, then the elevator. Her breath came too short, soft and ragged; she held tightly to him as they moved. For a moment, she could only nod, her body tense as she braced herself for another stab of pain. When it came, she bit her lip, sucking a breath in through her teeth. As it moved through her, so did impossible images, Charlie and her Rylee and him. Elias.
Not Elias.
Finally, it all subsided for the moment. She took deeper breaths, trying to maintain some semblance of control.
"Something... something like that," she said, trying to keep from sounding as though she were panting. "They've gotten worse... since I came to California."
She took another breath.
"Must be all the damned... clean air," she quipped weakly.