Dare ( A Gone fanfic)

The sunny coastline zipped past the window as the rusty brown truck clattered down the highway. Erin glared out at the beautiful beach scenery. The sparkling aqua waves were lapping against the white shore, tempting her. Mocking her. All she wanted to do was float away on them, out of her stupid lousy life. All the way to the end of the world. Maybe there, of all places, someone might respect her.
Erin Hailles was a bad girl. She was what her teachers called a problematic child. She had hurt everyone. Her mum, her dad, her teachers, her friends. Even her unborn brother was hurt, somehow. Though why this was, Erin was at a loss to explain.
The fact was, Erin was a golden girl. Or had been rather. The whole tiny town of Greenleaf had respected her, loved her even. She'd had so many friends... so many admirers, and her teachers had loved her. She was the girl who would put Greenleaf on the map. Bring glory and fame to her hometown. She was meant to travel the world. Do great things! But now... now all that was gone. Just gone. And all because of that stupid dare.

It was 3:00 pm by the time they reached the house. Erin's grandfather, John Hailles, brought the hideous brown truck to a stop in front of their lovely California home. It was massive and white. A vision in white weatherboard and cute blue window shutters.
John and Laura Hailles were Erin's devoted grandparents. They had taken her in when her parents had felt she was too much to handle, and they were paying the school fees for Erin to attend Coates Academy: the only school were rich parents sent their troublesome children. It came highly recommended by all the doctors and psychologists and professors that Erin and her parents had seen. But the problem was that Erin wasn't a rough kid and she knew that some of the kids at Coates were. Very very rough. The school had a bad reputation.
" Erin?" Erin looked up, mildly irritated at having her quiet time interrupted. It was Grandpa calling her. Wanted to chat, no doubt. Or discuss her plans for the future. Or get a lesson on how to make perfect scones from Nana Laura. That was what Erin had been subjected to for the entire journey. No pauses. No "Perhaps, our grandaughter would like to rest her head after her tough night" or
"Erin darling, don't feel obliged to decide anything yet. You must be so tired, just sit there and listen to your ipod."
Erin felt drained of all energy, but nonetheless she hauled herself off the warm cracked leather seat and stepped out of the truck. Grabbing the suitcase that was her last memory of her old life, she strode briskly through the door and into her new mansion.
" Erin dear, I'm putting the kettle on, would you like anything?" Laura's voice carried down the hall and Erin smiled in spite of her bad mood.
" Yeah...tea would be great." She called back and then quickly added "thanks" as an afterthought.
The big house was just how she remembered it. When she was young she had visited her grandparents all the time, but now... with Dad's work keeping him so busy, and of
course, Mum's constant argument with Laura over everything concerning the family, it had been years since Erin had set foot in the grand white house. She left her bags at the kitchen door and walked into the pretty kitchen, absorbing every tiny detail of the place. Californian sunlight streamed through the wide windows and the whole room smelled delicious: like freshly-baked scones. Seating herself at the scrubbed wooden table in the centre of the kitchen, Erin sighed a deep sigh of exhaustion, mixed with a whole lot of other emotions that came with having done something terribly wrong that you had never intended to do.
" Difficult night?" Laura set a steaming mug of tea in front of Erin. The old woman's softly lined face was creased with worry and sympathy.
" Yes, very." Erin replied brusquely. " Worst night of my life." No point in lying she figured.
" If you need anything, dear. We're here for you. You know that, don't you?" Laura patted her grandaughter's hand comfortingly, a gesture that was probably supposed to calm her, but only made the frustration well up inside her like a vicious beast. She stood up pushing the hand away.
" Yeah, I know that you and Grandpa are here for me." Erin spat furiously, willing the oncoming tears away. "Are just want to know why the hell my own parents aren't here! Isn't that in their job description or...something?!"
She ran from the room dragging her bags behind her, but thumped into Grandpa on the way out.
" Whoa...slow down there girl. You'll hurt yourself." John made to pick up Erin's bags for her, but she jerked them away.
"I'm fine." She lied, wiping the tears on her sleeve. "I just need to be alone."
" Well... uh you're room is just how you left it." John said, a sad smile on his weathered face. He was trying so hard and it was killing Erin to hurt him this way, but she wasn't the golden girl of Greenleaf anymore. Maybe it was about time to move on.