North (A Robert Downey Jr Fanfic)

"The Girl Who Destroys"

The alarm system blared it's shrill siren as she stalked through their house, tearing down anything she could get her hands on. Robert's display of awards and accolades sat proudly above a framed picture of him and Vanessa on the day they were married. Susan took his crystal "People's Choice Award" and smashed it into the picture, sending shards of glass flying in every direction.

"Mommy, come back. Avri's scared!" her son called out from the front door.
"Exton Elias, get back in the car!"
His eyes welled up as he turned and scurried back, as he was told to. He'd never been as scared of his mother as he was in that moment.

"This isn't fair. It's not fair!" she screamed as she swept her arm across the top of an occasional table. The lamp and everything else that was placed there went crashing to the floor, destroyed. Their home sickened her, it's cheerful colors and bright, open space made her eyes burn. It made her soul ache and she was prepared to take it all away from them.

She took a poker from next to the fireplace and started up the stairs to where she assumed the bedrooms were. The first clearly wasn't Robert and Vanessa's so she gave it a passing glance and moved on. The last room at the end of the hallway gave her just what she was looking for.

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine," she hissed as she swung the fire poker at the dresser, sending everything that sat atop it crashing to the floor. The jewelry box exploded into tiny slivers of glass and its contents scattered across the wood floor. The high pitched squeal of the unrelenting house alarm registered in her mind again but she kept on.

"You're so perfect, aren't you Vanessa? Your perfect house and it's perfect contents," Susan whispered to another picture of her ex husband and his bride. "Not anymore," she swiped a tear from her cheek as she picked up the box of matches that were sitting atop a different dresser.

The match's flame crackled to life and under mindless control of her impulses, she held it to the floor length curtains, setting them ablaze immediately. The scorching heat galvanized her into action, fleeing the bedroom and down the stairs. Her son stood in the front yard, crying hysterically and in a brief moment of clarity she realized just how far gone she was. There was no time for remorse though, the authorities were coming and she'd certainly be caught if she didn't get away.

She buckled her son in his seat and circled the car in a frenzied effort to escape but it was too late.
"Susan Levin! Step away from the car and put your hands where I can see them!" a uniformed police officer stood at the end of the driveway, gun pointed right at her. She dissolved into hysterical tears and dropped to her knees in the plush green grass, arms raised above her head.

***

"Bobby. Is that--"
"Smoke?" Penny croaked from the backseat.
"Oh my god. Please god, don't let that be what I think it is," Vanessa prayed to whoever was listening. Robert stamped on the gas, propelling them further into their neighborhood.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, our house! Bobby, stop the car! Now!" Vanessa screeched as he slammed on the breaks, allowing Vanessa to jump out. She sprinted toward the house, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Daisy! Daisy's in there!!!"

Smoke poured out of the top floor windows and the front door. Vanessa's heart sank at the possibility that her darling Daisy's fate was sealed. She dashed past the secure perimeter and around to the back of the house. Vanessa picked up a landscaping brick and with her one good hand, heaved it through the sliding glass door, making an ear shattering noise. The smoke that was trapped inside billowed out making Vanessa choke and gag. She dropped to her knees and crawled in, calling out her dog's name.