One week later...............

Ashley had come down with a bad cold, she thought about call in sick that day but she really needed the money and went to work anyway.

She managed to make it through most of the day after she bought herself some daytime cold medicine. Durring her dreak, she went outside to sit on the bench in front of the store. She sat down and shut her eyes for just a few seconds, when Rick walked up.

"Ashley! Hey there!"

"Hi Rick!"

"You look like you don't feel good! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine! Just got a bad cold!"

"If your sick, then why did you come to work? You should probably go to the doctor!"

"I can't afford to not come to work!"

"Doest the store give you insurance?"

"Yes! But, I don't have a home address to give them!"

"I'm sorry! I forgot! But you should probably try to take it easy! I don't want you getting any worse!"

"I'll be fine! Thank you Rick!"

"If you need anything! Just let me know!"

"I will! Thanks!"

Rick got up and headed into the store to do some shopping. He quickly got what he needed and started to head back out of the store. Ashley was still on the bench, but something was wrong.

She was now curled up on the bench shivering.

"Ashley! Are you ok? Is something wrong?"

"I don't feel so good! I tried to get up and almost passed out!"

"Somethings wrong then! I'm gonna go get you some help!"

Before Ashley could say anything, Rick went back into the store. He told her manager what had happened and they called for an ambulance.

Rick, being concerined for his new friend, rode with Ashley to the hospital.

Ashley had the flu with a 103 fever. The doctors managed to break her fever, but told not go to work for a few days, and just stay at home and rest for a few days.

Ashely didn't want them to know she was homeless, she didn't know what to do.

　

"Ashley!Your comming to stay at my house!"

"I don't know Rick!"

"You need a place to rest and get well! I have plenty of room, and I don't want to see you get any sicker!"

"Your wife won't mind?"

"No she won't mind! Besides...Sav has been asking about you!"

"He's still in town? I thought he would have gone back home by now!"

"We are working on the next album at my house! He'll be around for a few more weeks!

Now let's go get your car and head back to my house!"

Ashley sat down on a bench in the middle of the mall, she sometimes liked to just sit and watch people walk around. Families with kids would come and go, boyfriends and girlfriends would walk hand in had, and friends would walk around and talk and gossip. She didn't really have any of that. Her parents had died years ago and then her boyfriend dumped her for her best friend, then kicked her out of the apartment so she could live there. She would give up whatever she did have, just to have a few close friends.

After Rick had finally found something that Tina might like, the two of them continued through the mall. Savage was glancing across the mall at the Old Navy, when he saw Ashley.

"Hey Rick! There is your checker friend!"

"Who Ashley!"

"Ya! The one we just saw at Denny's! She kinda looks lonley!"

Rick looked over to see Ashley slumped over on the bench.

"You right! I wonder what's wrong! I'm going over to find out!"

Rick walked over to behind where she was sitting and tapped her on the shoulder. Ashley kinda jumped.

"Hey Ashley! Did I scare you?"

"Hi Rick! Fancey seeing you and Sav here!"

"What are you doing at the mall this time of day by yourself?"

"I'm just hanging out! Got nothing better to do! What about you?"

"Shopping with Sav!"

"That's nice! find anything good?"

"A few things! How about you?"

"Nothing!"

The three talked for a while longer, Ashley then noticed it was getting late. Sav noticed her fidigeting with her watch.

"Hey Ashley! What are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing besides heading back to the motel!"

Before Sav could say anything else, Ashley realized she said she was going to the motel. Both Sav and Rick noticed too.

"Motel?"

She decided she might as well tell then everything before she slipped up again.

"Do you live in the motel?"

"No! I actually live in my car!"

Her face turned bright red with embarassment. She tried to hide it, but couldn't.

"I really don't make a whole lot of money at the store and can't afford an apartment! So I live out of my car and if I have money left over at the end ofthe week, I treat myself to atleast one night in a motel!"

Rick and Sav just looked at her in shock. How could this sweet kind girl be homeless?

"Let me guess! You always go through her line!"

"Ya! So! She's a good checker!"

"Your just seem awfull friendly with her!"

"Sav! She's a nice girl!"

"wonder if she is single."

Rick and Sav finally decided what they where going to eat and ordered their food. By the time it had arrived, Ashley had finished eating and was ready to leave.

Ashley paid her bill, and left a small tip on the table, as she got up to leave she glanced over to Rick and Sav. She Smiled and waved good-bye to the both of them. They both also said good-bye.

Ashley left the resturant and headed for her car, she was trying to decide what she should do with the rest of her evening.

She decided to head over to the local motel and see if she could get a room for the night.

Luckly, the was a few rooms left and she was able get get one. She took her things up to her room, and started to relax. She took a long hot shower, and decided to maybe go over to the mall and just walk around.

As she started to walk through the mall, she would stop every once in a while and just look through the stores, thinking about what she would buy is she ever had enough money to actually spend.

Meanwhile, Rick and Sav had just arrived at the same mall.

"Rick! why are we here! You know that I hate mall shopping! Somebody is going to reconize us!"

"Nobody care that we are in the mall Sav! I come here all this time and never have had a problem!"

"Your also usually here with Tina! Not me!"

"Dont worry! I just want to get Kelly something for our anniversary next week! And I want to do it before she comes home from New Hampshire!"

"Ok! But let's not stay too long!"

It was now three in the afternoon. Ashley is a checker for Vons supermarket, and she had just finished ringing up her last two customers of the day. Time for her to go home for the evening, the only problem was that she didn't have a home to go to.

For the last year, even though she had a part time job, Ashley was homless. Only makeing around ten dollars an hour and twenty-five hours a week, she couldn't afford a place to live, the only home that she had was her car.

Ashley is a loner at the store, her coworkers don't even know that she is homeless, she hides it very well. Every day she goes to the local public gym and uses their showers to freshen herself up. She does her laundry at a laundrymat across town, and if she does enough money left at the end of the week, she will try to spend atleast one night in a local motel. Otherwise she just sleeps in her car, wherever she can.

　

It was again three o'clock and time for Ashley to head out for the day, by the time she was ready to leave, she was starving.

She checked he wallet to she how much money had left till tomarrows payday.

"Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty, Fifty........ Great! I actually have twenty extra dollars this week! Enough to stay at the motel tonight and have a decent meal today! This is a good week!"

Deciding that she had a hankering for pancakes and eggs, something she hadn't treated herself to in weeks, she headed over to Denny's in the corner of the shopping center.

Ashley was quickly seated and started to look over the menu. She decided on the big combo platter, Three pancakes, two eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast, with a large orange juice. It was also on special for just $7.99. That made her even happier.

As Ashley was waiting for her meal, she picked up one of the free newspapers that they give to patrons to read. As she was reading, she looked up to see one of her customers walk into the resturant, it was Rick Allen. Rick had been a customer of the store for some time and always came through her line. Ashley knew he was the drummer for Def Leppard, because she had been a fan of theirs for years. Today was the first time in a while that she had seen him because she knew that the band had been out on tour, she also noticed that he wasn't alone and Rick Savage was with him.

As her thoughts where drifting off, the waitress had brought her her meal.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"No thank you! I'm fine!"

"If you need anything, just hollor!"

"Thank you!"