The First Ambush

...🔥🌳🔥...

I don’t know which was more deafening—the silence of the road surrounded by the Caballeros or the rapid thumping of my heart as I sensed a shadow behind me.

That afternoon, April 27, should have been an ordinary end to a long day at the university.

I should have been walking home, thinking about the terms I needed to memorize for Anatomy and Physiology, or perhaps nursing the slight bitterness of being alone while Bailey was out on a date.

But fate has a cruel sense of humor.

When I heard that call—a short, urgent "Hey!"—my instincts as a human, and perhaps as a Nursing student trained to stay alert, were to turn around.

I thought someone needed help. I thought someone had dropped something.

But before my body could fully turn, the world suddenly collapsed in a rapid succession of events.

I didn't see his face immediately. All I felt was the swift approach of a tall figure.

He moved like a predator, or perhaps like someone being hunted. Before I could even open my mouth to ask a question, I felt strong arms wrap around me. It wasn't a gentle embrace; it was a desperate hold, pinning my arms down and wrapping around my shoulders.

And then, it happened.

His lips crashed against mine.

It wasn't the kind of kiss you read about in those cheesy romance novels that Bailey loves.

There were no fireworks. There was no slow music. It was a collision of frantic energy and cold desperation.

My eyes widened in absolute shock, reflecting the blurring red petals of the Fire Trees above us. His scent hit me instantly—a mix of expensive citrus cologne, the metallic tang of the summer heat, and something dark, like rain-soaked earth.

His lips were firm, pressing against mine with an intensity that felt more like a shield than affection.

I could feel the erratic thumping of his chest against my own, a rhythm so fast it felt like a ticking time bomb.

For a split second, I was paralyzed. The sheer audacity of the act, the violation of my personal space, and the betrayal of my own beliefs left me frozen in the middle of that crimson-lined road.

I, Suanne Salcedo... the thought raced through my mind as my eyes remained wide with shock. I, who have remained faithful to the Pact of the Single Blessedness, who have avoided the messy traps of teenage romance like a plague... had my first kiss stolen on this April afternoon.

It wasn't just stolen. It was shattered.

The Nursing student inside me was the first to wake up. I am not a damsel in distress; I know how to handle pressure, and more importantly, I know how to fight back.

My adrenaline kicked in, surging through my veins like fire.

"Mmmph!" I struggled, jerking my body with a force fueled by pure, unadulterated rage.

I shoved my palms against his chest, pushing him away with every ounce of strength I had. The contact was brief but firm, and finally, he stumbled back, breaking the unwanted intimacy.

I gasped for air, my lips tingling with a mixture of heat and phantom pressure. I stood there, trembling not in fear, but in fury. My nursing bag had slipped from one shoulder, and my hair, usually tied in a neat ponytail for school, was now slightly disheveled.

"What the hell was that?!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the silent row of Fire Trees.

Finally, I saw him.

Or at least, the silhouette of him.

He was tall, dressed in a way that suggested he belonged to the upper crust of the campus—a clean, expensive-looking jacket despite the heat, and dark trousers. His hair was a mess, dark strands falling over eyes that were currently wide with a realization that matched my own.

He didn't look like a pervert. He looked... horrified.

"Look, I—" he started, his voice a low, husky baritone that vibrated with a strange kind of calm despite his frantic movements earlier.

He took a step back, his hands raised as if in surrender.

"You pervert! Scoundrel!" I hissed, my hand automatically going to my mouth, wiping it as if I could erase the sensation of his lips. "Who even are you?! What right do you have to do that?!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes darting behind him, looking at the road we just came from as if expecting someone to emerge from the shadows. "I mistook you for someone else. I... I didn't mean to—"

"Mistook me?!" I laughed, a bitter, hysterical sound. "With a road this wide and my uniform this white, you made a mistake?! You just took my first kiss, you jerk! Do you even know what you've done?!"

To me, a kiss wasn't just a physical act. It was a choice.

A choice I had decided to waive for the sake of my friendship with Bailey and my own peace of mind. And now, this stranger—this shadow among the Fire Trees—had stripped that choice away from me in a matter of seconds.

He looked at me then, really looked at me. For a moment, the frantic energy slowed down. There was a coldness in his gaze, a calculated depth that made me feel even more uncomfortable. But then, the urgency returned to his face.

"I really am sorry," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "I have to go. Just... just forget this happened."

"Forget?!" I stepped forward, ready to grab him, to demand his name, to drag him to the nearest police station or at least the school's security office. "You won't get away with this that easily!"

But he was faster.

With a final, cryptic look of apology, he turned and sprinted into the shadows of the Fire Trees. He moved with a practiced ease, his figure disappearing behind the thick trunks and the falling red petals.

In a matter of seconds, the only evidence of his presence was the lingering scent of citrus and the disturbed petals on the ground.

I stood there, alone, breathing heavily. The orange glow of the sunset was fading into a bruised purple, and the Fire Trees looked more like warnings than ever.

"I will find you," I whispered to the empty air, my voice thick with a promise of retribution. "I swear to everything I hold dear, I will find you and make you regret this."

I picked up my bag, my hands still shaking. The bracelet on my wrist clinked—a sharp, silver sound that felt like it was mocking me. Protect you? If only.

The walk home was a blur. My mind was a chaotic mess of anatomical terms and the memory of that frantic kiss.

I felt violated, not just physically, but ideologically.

I, Suanne Salcedo, the girl who didn't care for romance, the girl who stood dignified even when her best friend chose a boy over her... had been reduced to a target of a stranger’s mistake.

As soon as I reached the safety of my room, I didn't even bother changing out of my uniform. I flopped onto my bed and grabbed my phone. My fingers flew across the screen as I dialed Bailey’s number.

She picked up on the third ring, her voice sounding light and airy, clearly still on a high from her date with Kendric.

"Suanne! Oh my god, you won't believe what Kendric got me—"

"Bailey, listen to me," I interrupted, my voice sharp and trembling. "I was ambushed."

The line went silent for a second. "Ambushed? What? Was there a robber? Are you hurt? Where are you?!"

"I'm home. And no, he didn't take my phone or my wallet," I said, sitting up and hugging a pillow to my chest. "He took something else. He took my first kiss, Bailey. Under the Fire Trees. A complete stranger just... he just grabbed me and kissed me!"

"Wait... WHAT?!" Bailey’s scream was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Who?! Do you know him? Was it a student? Suanne, oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm not okay! I'm furious!" I started my rant, the words pouring out like a broken dam. "I, Suanne Salcedo, who was faithful to the pact of Single Blessedness, had my first kiss stolen on this April, 18th year of my life! You know I don't care about those things, right? I have my studies, I have my plans, I have my dignity! And then this... this guy, who looked like he owns the world but acts like a thief, just uses me as a shield or a mistake or whatever he called it!"

"He said it was a mistake?" Bailey’s voice was now a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Yes! He said he mistook me for someone else. Can you believe the nerve? Mistook me?! As if I'm just some generic girl standing under a tree! He had this citrus smell, Bailey. High-end. And he was tall. But he ran away like a coward. He told me to 'just forget it happened.' Can you believe that?!"

"Suanne, relax, breathe," Bailey tried to soothe me, though I could hear her whispering to someone—probably Kendric—in the background. "Describe him more. Maybe we know him. Was he from school?"

"I don't know! It was dark, and the Fire Trees were everywhere. I just know he had this cold, calm voice even when he was apologizing. And he had a tattoo on his arm, but it was too fast to see what it was," I lay back down, staring at the ceiling. "I hate him, Bailey. I hate that he made my first kiss something I'll remember with anger instead of... well, whatever normal people feel."

"I'm so sorry, Suanne," Bailey said softly. "Do you want me to come over?"

"No, stay with Kendric. I just needed to vent," I sighed, feeling a bit of the tension leave my body, replaced by a dull ache of exhaustion. "I just... I feel like that pact we made was a shield, and he just shattered it without even knowing."

"The pact isn't about the kiss, Suanne. It's about us," Bailey reminded me. "But I get it. Your first kiss was supposed to be a choice. I'm sorry a jerk took that away."

"I'll find him," I said, my voice hardening again. "If he's a student in our university, he won't be able to hide for long. No one treats a Salcedo like a temporary hiding spot."

We talked for a few more minutes, with Bailey trying to distract me with stories of Kendric’s geeky charms, but my mind kept drifting back to the Fire Trees. To the way the red petals fell like crimson snow around us. To the frantic thumping of his heart.

After I hung up, I walked to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My lips were still a bit red. My eyes looked darker, more intense.

This was the first ambush of the summer. Little did I know, it was just the beginning of a fire that would consume everything I thought I knew about loyalty, justice, and the secrets buried under the red blossoms of the Caballero.

I touched the silver bracelet on my wrist. It was cold.

"The summer has just begun," I whispered to the room.

And somewhere out there, among the shadows and the scent of citrus, the guy who mistook me for someone else was probably thinking he had escaped.

He was wrong. Because if there's one thing a Nursing student knows, it's how to trace a symptom back to its source.

And he was a symptom I intended to cure with the full force of my wrath.

...🔥🌳🔥...

...AerixielDaiminse...

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