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Stephen DeMarco, the novel’s antagonist, is an attractive and charismatic junior at Baird who pursues Lucy Albright romantically her freshman year. Stephen embodies narcissistic and sociopathic qualities and sees people primarily as tools he can use to get what he wants, and he feels no remorse for inflicting pain or for the consequences of his actions. Throughout the novel, Stephen employs his calculating intelligence and charm to manipulate others. Stephen conceptualizes the world in terms of what he calls “nature’s laws.” He considers monogamy unnatural, and therefore sees his sexual infidelities not as betrayals of his girlfriends but as events he hides from them only for practical reasons of maintaining the relationships that serve his emotional and physical needs.
Stephen’s lack of compassion toward others is also revealed through his relationship with his family. He is unsympathetic toward both his bipolar mother, who abandoned his family, and his heartbroken father. He finds the genuine relationship his brother has with his girlfriend to be tiring and contemptable.
Stephen is incapable of taking personal responsibility, as demonstrated by the way he plays the victim when a DUI on his record results in his rejection from prestigious law schools. Stephen angrily blames his suffering on his father and the arresting officer. Likewise, Stephen feels no guilt over his role in Macy’s death. While the memory haunts him, he is mostly grateful that he was never held accountable for her dying in a wreck that he caused. Stephen’s lack of conscience is further revealed by the fact that he never expresses genuine sorrow over Macy’s death and instead focuses on protecting himself from consequences and worrying that his secret may be discovered.
At the end of the novel, when Stephen attempts to flirt with Lucy at Bree’s wedding despite being engaged, he shows that he is still manipulative and narcissistic. Not only is he incapable of becoming a better person, he demonstrates no interest in trying to.
