The girl left short term refuge (7)
I believe the answer is:
shelter
'refuge' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'the girl left short term' is the wordplay.
'the girl left' becomes 'shel' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'term' with its last letter taken off is 'ter'.
'shel'+'ter'='SHELTER'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shelter that I've seen before include "Refuge or protective cover" , "Roof" , "'Refuge, cover (7)'" , "Shield as from rain" , "Place of refuge" .)