Finley’s Way An Alternate Earth LGBTQ short story
Julie Mannino

Evan says Finley needs to toughen up. Ideas like having a home and someone to love and share it with is stupid. Even if one does everything right, a person's life still might not turn out the way they want in the end. Why not avoid more disappointment? Having dreams is useless, and focusing on survival at the current moment is what matters.
Finley’s experienced cruelty before, and he knows that life as a drifter won’t be easy at his age, but there has to be more than barely scraping by, right? When Evan does something that could keep them fed for a long time but is terribly wrong, Finley needs to make a hard choice.
Can a young boy who still has hopes for the future survive, thrive, and do the right thing? Will he make his own path in the world, or will he follow one of bitterness and lose himself?