A gap of love

Beginning

Mia Waskowski, was sat on a London bus bound for the West end of the city. It would have been any other mid-day journey on the bus, but today was different. Amy was clutching the phone to her ears, quietly crying as her boyfriend dumped her over the phone, and had even told her he had cleared out of her bank account and taken all of her savings. She knew this scrambling for her purse, and noticed her card was gone and that he always knew what her PIN was for the account.

Most people on the bus ignored the young, pale, beautiful blonde locked girl. She was crying away, wearing the same clothes she had left the house in that day. A long white dress, with a denim waist-coat that was loose and unbuttoned.

One man was watching, and hearing her pleading to her shit-bird of a boyfriend not to take her only savings, for them to talk things over, and of course not run off with one of her female friends as he had told her over the call.

Ryan Daley was watching, man in his late thirties with balding hair and a thick brown beard covering his jaw. He was a former Police officer, now working in the private security industry in the UK as a security guard and bouncer. He was on his way home that day on the bus, from a long 12-hour long shift at an empty building that was once a hotel that required around-the-clock security for some reason.

He shouldn't have noticed, but he saw the young girl's plight and already held a burning hatred for her ex-boyfriend.

"Please Michael don't do this, it's all the money I have. It'll take weeks for the bank to pay me it back."

But before she could plead some more, her defiant ex-boyfriend ended the call and the knowledge of her savings being gone, and her boyfriend leaving her took hold. She began to weep, holding the phone in her lap in a loose grip.

Time passed, but her weeping and cries were audible throughout yet no one intervened. That was the trouble that gnawed at Ryan's heart strings. He wanted to help this girl, when no one else seemed intent on helping her.

However it was that moment three young men came onto the bus, all wearing hooded tops, baseball caps obscuring their faces and Ryan had heard them downstairs arguing with the bus driver about the cost of their fares.

Both way they were upstairs now, and walking along the aisle when they noticed Mia weeping.

One of the boys was checking her out, saying something in whispers to his friends who laughed along. One of them, a white youth sat next to her abruptly and put his arm along the bar of the two-chairs behind her shoulders.

It was intrusive, Ryan saw that these young men were taking advantage of her predicament. Ryan watched cautiously, and overheard the youth sat next to the girl, pressing in closer to her.

"What's wrong babe, boyfriend making you unhappy?"

Ryan noticed the girl was uncomfortable, pulling her shoulders into her neck to avoid contact with the young man.

"Please leave me alone."

It was almost a whisper, but Ryan heard her.

The youth sat next to her put his hand on her thigh above the dress, and she cringed and pulled away from him against the wall of the bus.

The other boys laughed, at their friend's embarrassing rejection. He didn't seem happy, and his face screwed in anger. He moved in close to Mia, and whispers were said. Mia pulled away in fear, and that was when Ryan had had enough of the situation and stood up putting down his laptop bag and shoulder bag.

Ryan was wearing a suit as to be expected for his work and job in private security, he was dressed all in black including his ironed shirt.

He walked along the aisle, and grabbed the youth sat next to Mia by the scruff of his hooded top and yanked him from Mia's side onto his feet.

"Fuck off now, or I'll break your fucking legs."

The threat was harsh, like the ones Ryan gave to unruly punters and drinkers when working as a bouncer.

The youths looked at the man, as did Mia thinking he looked like nothing that they could take him together. But Ryan's demeanor, even the way he stood told them he was more than what he looked like, he was in a fighting stance staring down at them with his fists at his sides.

"Did I fucking stutter, do you want broken fucking legs?"

The threat worked, sensing this wasn't just a Joe-blog man they could kick to death or within inches of his life without a fight on their hands, they backed down cursing at him as they went downstairs and got off at the next stop.

"Fucking idiots."

Ryan said as he saw Mia stop cringing, and sit properly again.