Flipping Through the Pages
Copyright© 2026 by Dragonpig
Chapter 40
Harley sat, knees bent to her chest on her narrow bed, her back against the wall as she watched Mr. J carefully arrange her small collection of belongings on the dresser. He moved slowly, methodically, the way he did everything—straightening her few books, adjusting the angle of her hairbrush, making sure everything was just right. It was almost 11 PM, well past when he usually finished his rounds, but she’d asked him to stay a little longer tonight.
“Mr. J,” she said softly, patting the space beside her on the bed. “Come sit with me for a minute.”
He turned, that gentle smile spreading across his face as he settled onto the mattress next to her. The bed creaked under his weight, and Harley immediately curled up against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. His arm came around her automatically, protective and warm.
“You’re always so good to me,” she murmured, meaning it completely. In this building full of predators and broken girls, Mr. J was the only person who had never asked her for anything she wasn’t willing to give. Never looked at her the way the others did. Never made her feel like a thing instead of a person.
“I like taking care of you and the other girls, Harley,” he said simply, his deep voice rumbling through his chest.
Harley closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself feel safe in his arms before she had to become what she needed to be. A manipulator. A survivor. Someone who used the only person who genuinely cared about her.
The guilt sat heavy in her stomach, but Harley had learned long ago that guilt was a luxury she couldn’t afford. Not in this place.
“Mr. J, can I ask you something?” She tilted her head to look up at him.
“Sure, Harley.”
“You have keys to the whole building, right? For your cleaning?”
He nodded slowly. “Most places. Mr. Tetch gave me keys so I can clean everywhere.”
“Even upstairs? To his room?”
Mr. J’s expression grew uncertain, and Harley could see him trying to work through why she was asking. “Well, yeah, but ... I’m not supposed to go up there unless he tells me to. Only when he needs me to fix something or clean something.”
Harley’s heart started beating faster. This could work. This could actually work.
“When does he usually leave?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual while her mind raced through possibilities.
“Um ... Tuesdays and Thursdays he goes to the bank. And sometimes weekends he goes to see people about business stuff.”
Harley felt a surge of hope. She knew Jarvis was talking about expanding his operations, which meant meetings with investors, with distributors, with the corrupt officials who kept his business running. That meant predictable absences.
“Mr. J,” she said carefully, “what if I told you that I think Mr. Tetch might hurt more girls if we don’t do something?”
His arm tightened around her slightly. “What do you mean?”
Harley had spent months watching, listening, learning how this place worked. She’d seen girls disappear when they got too close to Jarvis, or when Alice decided they were a threat. She’d watched him gradually escalate his demands on each new girl until they became too old for the business. And she’d seen that he kept a large amount of money in his safe when she was up there one night with him and Alice.
“Mr. J, I bet he keeps all that money upstairs. Money he uses to buy new girls, to pay off the police, to keep this whole thing going.” She looked up at the maintenance man, seeing the confused concern in his eyes. “If that money was gone, he couldn’t keep hurting people.”
It was true, mostly. The part she wasn’t saying was that the money could also buy her and Mr. J a way out of Gotham entirely. Bus tickets to somewhere far away, maybe somewhere with better programs for people like Mr. J, somewhere she could finish school and try to build something resembling a normal life.
“But that would be stealing,” Mr. J said slowly.
“Would it be stealing if we used it to help people? To stop him from hurting more girls like Tammy?”
Harley hated herself for using Tammy as emotional leverage, but she’d seen how Mr. J’s face softened whenever the newer girl was mentioned. He wanted to protect people—it was just his nature.
“I don’t know, Harley. It sounds dangerous.”
She shifted so she was facing him more directly, taking his large hands in both of hers. “Mr. J, you’re the only person in this building I trust. You’re the only one who’s never tried to hurt me or use me for something awful.”
His face flushed slightly at the praise, and Harley felt another stab of guilt. But she pushed it down. This wasn’t just about manipulation—she did trust him, did care about him. That’s what made this so hard.
“What if we could leave together?” she continued. “What if we could get somewhere safe, both of us?”
“Leave?” The concept seemed to confuse him. “But I have a job here. Mr. Tetch needs me to clean.”
“Mr. Tetch is a bad man, Mr. J. He hurts girls like me, and he’s mean to you. Remember what he calls you all the time?”
She saw the hurt flash across his face, and immediately regretted bringing it up. But she needed him to understand that Jarvis wasn’t his friend, wasn’t someone worthy of his loyalty.
“He doesn’t mean it,” Mr. J said quietly, but there was doubt in his voice.
“Yes, he does.” Harley squeezed his hands. “But we could go somewhere where people would be nice to you. Where you could have a job that pays you fairly, where people would appreciate how hard you work.”
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