Ihad another sleepless¹ night, and as much as I want to go back to bed, I realize I can’t. Not until I tell you how it happened.

The accident didn’t happen the way you probably imagine, or the way that Miles imagined. I hadn’t, as he suspected, been drinking that night. Nor was I under the influence of any drugs. I was completely sober.

What happened with Missy that night was, quite simply, an accident.  I’ve gone over it a thousand times in my mind. In the fifteen years since it happened, I’ve felt a sense of déjà vu at odd times—when carrying boxes to a moving van a couple of years ago, for instance—and the feeling still makes me stop whatever it is I’m doing, if only for a moment, and I find myself drawn² back in time, to the day that Missy Ryan died.

I’d been working since early that morning, unloading boxes onto pallets for storage in a local warehouse³, and I was supposed to be off at six. But a late shipment of plastic pipes came in right before closing time—my employer that day was the supplier for most of the shops in the Carolinas—and the owner asked if I wouldn’t mind staying for an extra hour or so. I didn’t mind; it meant overtime⁴, time and a half, a great way to pick up some much needed extra cash. What I hadn’t counted on was how full the trailer was, or that I’d pretty much end up doing most of the job alone.

There were supposed to be four guys working, but one had called in sick that day, another couldn’t stay since his son was playing a baseball game and he didn’t want to miss it. That left two of us to do the job, which still would have been okay. But a few minutes after the trailer pulled in, the other guy turned his ankle, and the next thing I knew, I was all by myself.  It was hot, too. The temperature outside was in the nineties, and inside the warehouse it was even hotter, over a hundred degrees and humid. I’d already put in eight hours, with another three hours to go. Trucks had been pulling up all day, and because I didn’t work there regularly, most of my work was the backbreaking type. The other three guys rotated turns using the forklift, so they might get a break now and then. Not me. My job was to sort the boxes and then haul them from the back of the trailer to where the door slid up, loading everything on pallets so the forklift could move them into the warehouse. But by the end of the day, since I was the only one there, I had to do it all. By the time I finished up, I was bone-tired. I could barely move my arms, I had

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1 sleepless
adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的
参考例句：
The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。 One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

2 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 warehouse
n.仓库；vt.存入仓库
参考例句：
We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。 The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

4 overtime
adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地
参考例句：
They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。 He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

5 spasms
n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作
参考例句：
After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后，痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句

6 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 dented
v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）
参考例句：
The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。 I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 slant
v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向
参考例句：
The lines are drawn on a slant.这些线条被画成斜线。 The editorial had an antiunion slant.这篇社论有一种反工会的倾向。

10 squint
v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的
参考例句：
A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。 The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

11 veering
n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转
参考例句：
Anyone veering too close to the convoys risks being shot. 任何人改变方向，过于接近车队就有遭枪击的风险。 来自互联网 The little boat kept veering from its course in such a turbulent river. 小船在这湍急的河中总是改变方向。 来自互联网

12 squealing
v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。 The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

13 veered
v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转
参考例句：
The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。 The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 fiddling
微小的
参考例句：
He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。 All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

15 winding
n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈
参考例句：
A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。 The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

16 applied
adj.应用的；v.应用，适用
参考例句：
She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。 This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

17 gliding
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句：
Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。 The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

18 snarl
v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮
参考例句：
At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。 The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。