Beyond the Surface

By Julie Strickland

After moving to Minnesota, Aria Richards tries to start a new chapter of her life...behind her parents' backs. She makes some friends and an enemy too, but even her enemy isn't the biggest challenge in her life. Her parents, behind their strict, filthy-rich fronts, aren't acting the same. Aria knows something else is going on. Something they would protect with their lives if necessary. Something beyond the surface.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886446920

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

About the Author

cover.jpg

Beyond the Surface

Julie Strickland

ISBN 979-8-88644-691-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88644-692-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Julie Strickland

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

To the most decent friend, I've ever had. P.S. I didn't forget about the deal we made when we were eight. Here's your dedication.

Chapter 1

There were movers everywhere. Every direction Aria turned, she saw dozens of them weaving to and fro, struggling to unload the truckloads of furniture and boxes. She genuinely felt bad for them, not because of the boxes or anything but because her parents wouldn't give them a break. They were constantly yelling and snapping at them to work faster, move something else and such. It had only been an hour since Aria and her parents, Lisa and Ryan Richards, had started moving into their new home, but Aria was already tired of it.

Why did we have to move here again? said Aria unenthusiastically.

For humble beginnings, her mother replied. Aria raised her eyebrows but got no response from her mother. Eventually, she dropped it, but the response she had received continued to resonate in her mind.

Humble beginnings, Aria muttered. Well, a house that happens to be a multimillion-dollar four-story mansion with an outdoor pool, tiki bar, and automatic gates doesn't strike anyone as humble. Aria scoffed and watched her parents as they bossed around the workers. After some time passed, they did pause momentarily to admire the house.

Finally, a place that fits our lifestyle, Aria's mother said as she snapped at a mover to bring in more boxes. Ryan, what do you think?

I'm glad we have a house that is worthy of our attention. They both gave haughty laughs and continued inside to boss around the already miserable movers.

Yep, seems great, Aria mumbled. New house, new state, new teams, just great. She rolled her eyes and made her way inside.

After being ignored by her parents for several minutes, Aria was directed to her room, where her stuff was waiting. She started unpacking her things while she listened to her parents yelling about trivial furniture placement downstairs. After about two hours, she had everything in its proper place, so she made her way back downstairs to the open living space to see what her parents were doing. Not to her surprise, they were drinking margaritas while the workers they hired unpacked all the boxes. Aria stood at the bottom of the staircase in disbelief. She almost said something to them, but they left the room before she got the chance. Aria hated this about them: their snarky-rich attitudes and their lack of care for other people. But there wasn't much Aria liked about her parents, so this was just one more thing to add to the list.

Aria, we have to go to the new office to make sure our presence is known, Lisa commented as she was already walking out the door.

I'm sure you do, Aria replied snarkily.

Her mom rolled her eyes. Just don't go anywhere and don't break anything. With that, they left almost as quickly as they had arrived. Sadly, Aria expected nothing less. They had never cared about her, or anything really, other than being rich business owners and growing their company. Aria learned this many years ago, and she was used to it at this point. Now, it didn't bother her anymore. She had learned to deal with it in other ways, ways she was much more passionate about: figure skating and hockey. Aria went back upstairs to her room and called the club that she had been contacting for weeks prior to the move.

Hello, is this Hendrick's Ice Sports?

Yes, this is Coach Hendrick speaking.

Hi, this is Aria Richards. Are you the coach that has been reading my emails?

Ah, yes, I am. Have you moved to Minnesota yet?

Yes, my parents and I just flew in from Florida this morning.

Great, was your flight okay?

It was good, thanks for asking.

No problem. So are you planning on coming to any clinics or open gyms before tryouts next week?

Actually, I was wondering if I could come today. I already unpacked all my things and don't have much else to do.

Of course! You're welcome to come anytime we're open. Let me know when you get here, and I'll have one of our coaches tour you around.

Okay, thank you. She hung up the phone and plopped on her bed. At least one good thing came out of this move. Quickly, she called an Uber. She ran to her closet, grabbed her hockey gear and figure skating bag, and went outside to wait for her ride. The car pulled up ten minutes later.

It only took twenty minutes total for Aria to be in the club's parking lot. She walked into the main entrance of the building and was greeted by Coach Sanders, the 15's international hockey team coach, whom she had also talked to on the phone a little while back.

Hey, are you Aria? he asked as she walked inside.

Yes, I am.

Well, I'm Coach Sanders. It's great to finally meet you in person. He shook her hand firmly and flashed a smile.

You too.

Let's go to Coach Hendrick's office so we can finalize some scheduling details first, then I'll show you around the facility.

Sounds great.

They walked down a long, wide hallway and walked past two of the eight indoor ice rinks to get to Coach Hendrick's office. Once they got there, they sat down and discussed how many hours Aria wanted to spend playing hockey and figure skating per day and per week. They made a lessons/practice schedule accordingly. She wanted to spend practically the rest of her summer here and as much as she could during the school year. This wasn't surprising to either of the present coaches. She had been on Tampa Bay's international 14's hockey team and their junior international figure skating team last season. She had easily been putting in over four hours on the ice six days a week, and every coach at this club knew that simply by the teams' names.

Okay, here is your schedule for the days up until tryouts. We will give you an updated one after tryouts next week. Coach Hendrick handed her a piece of paper from his desk. Your first clinic starts in about half an hour on rink 8.

Aria gladly took the piece of paper and headed out the door with Coach Sanders. He showed her where all the important rooms were, then left her in the hands of some other athletes to guide her to the girl's figure skating locker room. As they approached the locker room, the girls bumped into Coach Henderson, the international team figure skating coach. She had been waiting there for Aria for several minutes.

Coach H.! one of the girls said excitedly.

Hey, girls.

Coach Sanders asked us to give this to you. The girls unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to her. Once Coach H., or Coach Henderson to be more precise, thanked them, the girls walked down another hallway to go to their lesson, leaving Aria there.

You must be Aria, Coach H. said in a welcoming manner. I'm so happy that you're here. You are going to be a great addition to our programs.

Thank you, replied Aria as she followed her down the hallway.

Did you get your summer practice schedule?

Yes, it's right here. Aria pulled it out to show her.

Great! I'm not going to keep you long, but let me introduce you to some of the other girls. They walked a bit further down the hall and went into the locker room.

Girls, Coach H. proclaimed to grab their attention. This is Aria. She just moved here from Florida. She played hockey and figure skated there at Tampa. Can you guys show her around and make sure she feels welcome?

A chorus of athletes agreed to do so, and Coach H. left the room.

Aria, unsure of what to say, stood there waiting for someone to spark a conversation. Tons of girls chirped in immediately with polite greetings.

You can put your stuff in this locker, one girl said above the chatter as she hit the side of it. Just come back and get it at the end of the night.

Okay, thanks, Aria responded as she made her way over to that set of lockers. There were a plethora of lockers lining the walls and sitting in rows in the middle of the room. In between the lockers, there were wooden benches where the athletes sat and chatted as they got ready. Aria weaved her way around the girls, lockers, and benches to get to her temporary locker. She put her stuff on the bottom locker shelf, pulled out her skates, sat on the nearest bench, and started getting ready for her first lesson.

Hi, Aria, right? Aria turned around on the bench to see a fairly tall good-looking blond girl looking down at her.

I'm Kelsey, the girl said cheerfully. I'm on the international team here.

Cool, nice to meet you. Aria looked back down at her feet to lace up her skates.

But don't worry, I don't believe in status quo labels or anything. I just want to be your friend. Aria looked back up at her and smiled. Kelsey smiled back and did a cute squeal of excitement then continued. I'm so excited that you're here. Coach H. said that you would be coming soon, and we always—well, so we got this ready for you. Kelsey picked up a brown wick-wire basket off the floor behind her and held it out. Aria took it from her appreciatively and was urged to open it by some other girls behind Kelsey. Apparently, it was all the other girls on the international figure skating team. Aria opened the plastic wrap on the basket and picked through it. It was full of candy, socks, athletic tape, some bath bombs, and other small gifts.

Wow, thank you! Aria said. This is so nice!

We're glad you like it, Maria, another pretty blond girl, said from behind Kelsey. And here is the ribbon that came with it.

Oh, thanks, Kel— Aria realized that that girl wasn't Kelsey. Wait, what's your name? she said after an awkward pause.

I'm Maria. Aria nodded and noticed how similar Maria looked to Kelsey. The only noticeable difference between them at first glance was their height; Maria was several inches shorter. However, after further examination Aria observed that Maria had hazel eyes instead of green and a slightly darker hair color. The other girls started to introduce themselves. First, Kaitlin went. She was quite tall, nearly six feet, and had beautiful brown hair that flowed down past her shoulders. However, she appeared to be more of a tomboy than a girly girl, despite her hair. Next, Kaitlin's younger sister Courtney introduced herself. She looked similar to her sister, but she was five foot six and had a rounder face.

Nice to meet you guys, Aria said.

Nice to meet you too, Courtney said for all of them. The girls smiled and walked back to their lockers to finish putting on their skates. Aria laced up hers and went to her first class: Spinning and Leaps Level 5.

There were five levels to each of the figure skating classes. Only the most advanced athletes were allowed to join the level 5 classes, and it was clear to see why Aria was invited to join from her first day there. Her previous club was no. 2 in the country, second to this one, and many of the coaches had already seen her skate at other competitions and showcases. Aria was extremely talented at both figure skating and ice hockey, and not a single person there questioned it once they saw her skate.

After that class ended, Aria rushed back to the locker room, got her hockey gear, and headed down to rink 2 for her private lesson with Coach Sanders. She had privately requested Coach Sanders for lessons and was pleased to see her request had been granted. She had high hopes and expectations for making it on his team even though it was all boys. They needed a goalie, which was her position, and her team had beaten his in the championships at nationals just a few months ago. Besides, there were no girls' teams at this club, so she was going to have to be put on a boys' team anyway. This lesson solidified her thoughts on her team placement. Coach Sanders mentioned many of the plays that his team were going to be running this season and even said that he knew she would get along with the boys well. On this note, she went back to the sitting area right outside the rink to grab her stuff and head to the next rink over.

Hey, Aria! Do you have a second?

Yes, Coach.

We have a girl's hockey locker room just around the corner on the left if you want to use it.

Really? How many other girls play hockey here?

Well, you're the first one we've had in a while, but we're working on it.

Aria gave a friendly laugh then decided to briefly explore the locker room. It was clean, spacious, and smelled fresh. There were lockers lining all four walls, only stopping for the closet and bathroom door, and a row of lockers going down the center of the room. This is way better than the girl's bathroom at Tampa, she said as she put her bag into one of the lockers. I can get used to this.

Aria went to her next session: power skating 15's–16's. She impressed many of the boys there, and several of them asked her where she played before. She told them that she skated at Tampa Bay despite her conscience. Tampa was not known to be a good club behavior-wise. Their athletes were very talented, but they tended to get into trouble. A lot of the boys Aria told this to looked a little shocked; she didn't seem like the Tampa type. But she had her own secrets about things that had happened in Florida, specifically with Tampa, that she was determined to keep hidden.

Aria only had one more clinic to go after power skating. To close out the night, she went to a final figure skating lesson on advanced jumps. It went well, and she stayed back for a while to get to know some of the other girls. Soon after, she headed back home.

Her parents, unaware that she had even left, returned home half an hour after her. They had spent their afternoon terrorizing their employees. They went to their new office branch and made their presence known by storming in, disrupting everyone, ordering the first people they saw to do their busy work, and instilling fear in all those who saw them with their yelling and authoritative power. They even fired someone on the spot for spilling a glass of water just to prove their dominance! Aria had the pleasure of hearing some of this from her parents the second they walked in the door. She listened in disgust as they vividly described the fear on their employees' faces. Aria couldn't stand her parents for doing this; their behavior was simply unacceptable in every way. She had heard enough of them and their arrogance for one day. She whipped around and tried to leave the room, but her mother made her stay.

We have to talk to you, her mom said as she strutted over to the couch and threw her stuff down.

What is it? Aria answered, expecting them to say they had to go on a work trip.

Well, her dad began, you are not going to be homeschooled anymore. Your mother and I have decided to enroll you in a private school, and we expect your grades to be exceptional.

Aria was taken aback. What? Why are you doing this? I don't want—

Shut up! her mother barked back as she slammed the remote on the living room table. We don't care how you feel about it. It is happening, and that is final. Once that sentence left her mother's lips, Aria's anger started to burn. She marched toward her parents.

You're not even going to tell me why!

We don't have to explain ourselves to you.

It's my life! I deserve an explanation!

You deserve nothing! he yelled back. There was a slight pause. Aria didn't know how to respond to this. As soon as she was about to speak, her father butted back in.

Also, if your grades don't meet our standards, there will be no more extracurriculars—

And we will not be paying for your sports.

What? This isn't fair! You can't—

We will do whatever we want, her mother said as a malicious grin formed on her face. Aria didn't know what to say; she knew that her parents' minds had already been made up.

Whatever, Aria responded. She started to leave again but was called back by her mother. She handed her a manila folder containing the information on her new school. Aria, again tongue-tied, went to her room.

Dickenson Preparatory Academy. The no. 1 academy in the country, Aria said mockingly. Who cares? I probably do this same work through my homeschool! She tossed the folder on her bed and banged her fist against the wall. I'm already two years ahead in math, taking all honors classes, and fluent in four languages! Why is nothing I do good enough for them! With all this frustration boiling up inside her, she decided to get rid of it in the most convenient way she knew: writing it in her diary.

Dear Diary,

Today sucked, was great, then sucked again. For starters, I moved to a different state this morning, and I had to deal with all that moving and unpacking junk. Then I played hockey and figure skated at Hendrick's Ice Sports, which went extremely well. I met some other athletes and many coaches, and everyone seemed super nice. The instruction and lessons they have at the club were amazing too. I even think Coach Sanders is going to let me on his team to be their goalie. Needless to say, skating was the highlight of my day.

Now, I'm currently distraught at my parents. As soon as they came home, they told me I am going to go to a private school now even though I'm doing great at all my homeschool work. They won't even tell me why, which is the worst part. Also, if I don't get outstanding grades, they won't pay for my sports. They probably don't even know what sports I play!

This was true. They didn't know. They didn't even have the slightest clue. Not once had they come to watch her for as long as she could remember. This was one of the other things that really got to her sometimes. She did so much to please them, or rather was forced to, but they didn't even put in the bare minimum for her. I guess you can't have everything, but all she really wanted was parents who gave her their love and attention.

The next morning, Aria woke up early. She was planning to sneak out again to go to the gym. Well, she wouldn't call it sneaking out but rather secretively exiting the house without letting her parents know that she was leaving. She headed downstairs and looked out the window to find that her parents had already left for work. She took this as a win and simply walked out the front door once her Uber arrived.

It didn't take long to get there. Within twenty minutes, she had already started her usual weightlifting legs-day circuit. She did variations of this workout often, mainly to aid her in figure skating and hockey. Again, no one would be