Nothing to smile about
Chat|January 23, 2020
As the doctors pieced me back together, the thug who put me in hospital was grinning for the camera
KARA O'NEILL, FIONA LOCKE
Nothing to smile about
Sipping my drink, I turned to face the man who’d just tapped me on the shoulder.

‘Craig?’ I gasped. Silly question. I’d recognise that grin anywhere.

It was late 2014, and I was at the pub with friends – didn’t expect to be bumping into my ex.

Craig and I had gone out together when I was 16 and he was 21. He was a charmer, even if he was missing a front tooth!

But I soon realised Craig also had a nasty temper.

‘I never liked him,’ my sister Emma, then 14, said to me when Craig and I split three years later.

Now, here he was again.

As we chatted over beers at the bar, a familiar spark was reignited.

‘It’s always been you,’ he told me, giving me that big smile. And he made me melt all over again.

After that, I saw Craig most days, and it wasn’t long before I fell pregnant.

We hadn’t planned it, but Craig was delighted.

‘We’ll be a proper family!’ he said to me.

Those first weeks were so exciting as we chatted about what we’d call our baby, whether we’d have a boy or a girl.

Then, in May 2015, at my 12-week scan, the sonographer couldn’t find a heartbeat.

‘I’m sorry to say you’ve miscarried,’ a doctor confirmed.

I turned to Craig, a lump in my throat.

But all I saw was his back as he stormed out of the room.

He’s upset, too, I thought, walking home alone.

But Craig didn’t answer my calls or texts and I didn’t see him for days.

Grieving for our baby, I’d never felt so lonely.

Finally meeting at a pub, Craig started an argument. Stepping outside, there was nobody around as Craig continued to yell at me.

‘It’s your fault you lost our baby,’ he spat.

This story is from the January 23, 2020 edition of Chat.

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This story is from the January 23, 2020 edition of Chat.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.