A homeless girl

"Spare change?" a voice called to him. Hunter looked down to see a girl in denims crouched on the sidewalk, holding out an empty coffee cup with soulful, hungry eyes. He dug in his pocket and poured a handful of change into her cup and she looked up at him with wary gratitude.

"Thanks so much Mister. God bless you."

"Have you got a place to stay?" he asked.

"There's a shelter," she said carefully, her eyes gauging him as he crouched beside her.

"When's the last time you ate something?"

"Earlier today. Why all the questions Mister?" Her eyes were suspicious and careful.

"I'm just concerned when I see a young person on the street," he smiled, pulling out his wallet and extracting a bill. "Get yourself some dinner."

"Twenty dollars! Thanks Mister! Thank you!" Her appreciation was genuine but she was still wary as she pulled the bill out of her cup and shoved it into a pocket. Hunter smiled and touched her hand, smiling again as her eyes widened and she caught her breath with a gasp before pulling it away.

"There's no need to be frightened, I mean no harm. My name's Hunter," he said with a reassuring smile, holding out a hand in friendship.

"Lani," she replied uncertainly, taking his hand and gasping again when he gently squeezed her fingers. He held her hand, not letting her pull it away, looking at her with a smile as she squirmed, her breathing thickening.

"How old are you Lani?"

"Eighteen. I'm eighteen," she answered, her voice quavering slightly. "Why do you want to know?|"

"That's young to be living on the street," he said, stroking his thumb over the palm of her hand. She sucked in her breath, biting her lip as she looked at the hand he held, then up into his face.

"It's...it's old enough...I can...can look after myself..." she stammered. "What do you...you want...Mister?"