The Shift

1

I was in absolute deep shit, the deepest shit I'd ever been in. I, Chandler Monroe, needed to have control of the situation, and in this case I had zero. I wasn't ready for this, I mean I wasn't even capable of watching a scary movie trailer in the dark, so I knew I was nowhere near ready for this.

'Get out of the car Chan, we don't have all day' Satan said, or in other words, my dad. 'Don't even want to be here, so' I mumbled. He wasn't a mean guy it's just, in this situation he was the devil to me. 'Stop bitching, this place is sweet' Connor said, the contradicting brother role wasn't what I was looking for right now. He jumped out of the car and I sighed. I was envious of him, he was leaving behind so much back home, yet he still had more confidence than me. He had friends, a team, he even started a god damn club at school.

And then there was me. Chandler Monroe, a.k.a. well I wasn't known as anything actually. I was just Chandler. I was leaving behind one friend, and a milestone of books which I had to leave behind because there weren't enough boxes. My eight year brother was cooler than me, and I here I was, a needle moving into a haystack. Except it was more like a piece of hay moving into a stack of needles, because the Cohen's they were needles alright. Sharp, flashy, and perfect.

Opening the door of my dad's Ford Explorer, I did as I was told. I didn't even have a second to soak in my surroundings before I heard her voice. 'Oh Chandler, I knew you were around here somewhere' Satan's mistress, or Veronica said. Veronica Cohen to be exact. CEO of some handbag line, and owner of a jewelry store. She was a successful woman, and she was now my stepmother.'Come on sweetheart, everyone's inside' She wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me up the stone path towards the front door.

'Bethany, Blake, Johnny, Chandler and Connor are here' She yelled from the foyer. I sighed. It'd been a while since I had last seen her kids, or my step siblings. The last time was when we all conferenced called, the dreadful day my dad and Veronica told us that we'd be moving in with her after the wedding. Yeah dad, let's just pick up everything and move to Calabasas for your new rich wife.

'Chandler' I heard someone say, and I turned around to see Blake. He was the oldest of her three kids, and by far the nicest. Honestly I think he was only welcoming because he was leaving for Yale in a week and wouldn't have to live with us anyway. 'Hi Blake' I said, hugging him back. 'How was the flight?' He asked. 'Long, kind of tired' I said. 'Well I'm sure Bethany will help you setup your room' He said. 'Let's not put words in my mouth' Bethany said as she jogged down the stairs. She even made a baggy sweatshirt look good.

Bethany Cohen, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect teeth, long legs, pretty much your ideal California girl. 'What's up Chan?' She asked and I smiled nervously. She always made me nervous, I guess it was because I was nothing like her. 'Hey' I said and she smirked. 'Johnny get the fuck down here, we're aging' Bethany yelled as my dad, or Alex, as they called him and Connor re-entered the room.

'Bethany was that really necessary?' Veronica asked her. 'I felt it was' She said as I heard footsteps. Footsteps belonging to the Johnny Cohen. He was fraternal twins with Bethany, so the blonde hair and blue eyes ran through him too. Johnny was that guy, and he was a guy I'd never have been able to approach on my own. So to be living with him, let's just say I was still trying to catch my breath.

I mean, we weren't blood, but if I ever decided to be confident one day, I could no longer try to snag him. Because he was now my brother. 'Hey Alex' He said as he hugged my dad. 'What's up little man?' He asked Connor. Sometimes I wish I was eight, Con seemed to have this pent up confidence that I was struggling to obtain. 'Hey Chandler' He said, flashing me that smile that probably broke hearts across California.

'Hi Johnny' I said, sharing an awkward hug with him. 'Alright, you two need to unpack' Veronica said. 'Yeah, I wish I could stay and help out, but I'm meeting Carly for lunch' Blake said. 'C'mon Blake' Veronica said. 'Bye mom, bye Alex, later guys' He said as he kissed his mom's cheek and practically bolted through the front door.