“Did he explicitly say that?”
I hesitate and try to remember. “No, he … I don’t think he did.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Just that he was rooting for me to do well.”
“Is that the last time you spoke to him?”
“No, he came over to talk to me and my parents the next day to congratulate us.”
Agent Kingston glances sharply at her partner and then turns back to me. “Your parents were present for the conversation?”
“Yeah, he congratulated them and then said something about training camp, that he was excited to get started—wait, why are you asking me this?” I ask, but as I do, the awful truth begins to settle around me, everything becoming crystal clear in an instant, but somehow also the most confusing thing I’ve ever tried to wrap my brain around.
Agent Farley says, “We’re attempting to establish a pattern, Audrey, with how he handled his victims, how he groomed them. That’s what we call the behavior leading up to the abuse. Usually, it’s the perpetrator attempting to gain their target’s trust or, in Gibson’s case, leveraging a position of authority over his gymnasts.”
For years, Christopher Gibson had been one thing: a coach, a man to be respected and feared and obeyed without question because the only road to Olympic gold was through his approval and good graces. In the last few weeks, I understood, at least in theory, that all of that was a façade, a cover for the sick abuse he inflicted on my teammate. And now I know the awful truth.
He was going to abuse me too.
“Can you confirm that he assigned you a single room at the training center when you girls arrived?” Agent Kingston asks softly, breaking through my thoughts.
“He did. I thought it was weird because usually Emma and I … Wait, Dani said that he did that to her at worlds last year, gave her a single room, so he could … was he … was he going to …”
“Perhaps. It matches up with some of his earlier behavior, and had the opportunity presented itself, then yes, I’m afraid it was a possibility. I’m sorry.”
I sniffle and wipe away a ridiculous tear that’s escaped from the corner from my eye. “No, it’s okay … It didn’t happen and that’s what matters. Is that how he always groomed girls?”
“Several other young women have confirmed these and other behaviors prior to being abused.”
“Several? Then it wasn’t just Dani?”
The agents don’t respond, but I know it’s true.
“How long has he been doing this?”
“As far as we can tell, a little over two decades.”
My heart feels like it weighs a ton, every beat a physical effort at the truth of what happened to my friend and who knows how many others.
“Twenty years? Are you kidding?”
“Unfortunately not,” Agent Farley says. “Will you be willing to testify to all of this at trial, Audrey?”
“Yes, of course, whatever you need. I want to make sure he rots in prison.”
Agent Kingston smiles sadly. “Thank you, Audrey, then that’s everything for now.”
The scrape of the chair on the tile floor is jarring as I push back and stand up, wiping at my eyes one more time. Why the hell am I crying? Nothing even happened to me.Jesus, Audrey, get it together.
The living room is empty when I leave the kitchen with Mrs. Jackson. She reaches out and touches my shoulder softly. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, but before I can answer, she’s already walked past me and up the stairs, probably to find Emma, who is scheduled to go next.
Chelsea and Dani are upstairs too, but I’m not sure I’m ready to face Dani yet. I don’t know if I’ll be able to look at her and not start sobbing. She doesn’t even know it, but she saved me from what she went through, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Am I supposed to be grateful that she was abused, that he chose her before he chose me?
My feet keep moving, taking me from the living room and out the front door, into the warm beach air. The nights here are perfect, a salty breeze, a bright moon, the soft crashing of waves just a few streets over. But I’m numb to all of it. How is this the same world I existed in just a few minutes ago? Everything feels completely different.
My phone buzzes once, and then again, messages from Sarah and Brooke in our brand-new group chat:
